500 "Mathletes" from Kansas City's Urban School Districts Will Participate in Regional Competition

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- When 500 middle and high school students from six of Kansas City's urban school districts come together on Saturday, November 10, 2018, they won't just be competing for team awards and individual scholarship opportunities. They also will be demonstrating that any student can be a successful Math achiever with the right curriculum and support.

PREP-KC, the region's leading intermediary for public education programming, is hosting its 9th Annual Regional Math Relays competition at Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri as part of its Math Benchmarking initiative. This year's competition will begin at 8:00 am on Saturday, November 10 at Center High School, and will host students from schools in PREP-KC's five partner districts: Center, Grandview, Hickman Mills, Kansas City, KS (KCKPS), Kansas City, MO (KCPS) and Allen Village Charter Schools.

Thanks to sponsors including Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, Cerner Corporation, and the KU School of Engineering, students participating in Math Relays compete for both team awards as well as individual scholarships. 429 students from 19 urban high schools on both sides of the state line participated in the 2017 competition.

Math Benchmarking increases the number of students who complete advanced math courses by providing teachers with training and support focused on curriculum alignment and high-quality instruction.

"Many people–students and adults alike–resign themselves and say, 'I'm just not good at Math.' But we don't believe that needs to be the case," said Susan Wally, president and CEO of PREP-KC. "Our Math Benchmarking strategy, and events like the Math Relays, are helping students see themselves as Math achievers, and studies show that high school students who succeed at a rigorous Math curriculum in high school do better in college and in their future careers."

About PREP-KC

PREP-KC was founded in 2005 to assist urban school districts to improve college and career participation. Its mission is to increase college-readiness and access to high-quality employment for the more than 65,000 mostly low-income students served by six of Kansas City's bi-state urban school districts.  PREP-KC provides its funders with independent and timely data on the impact of their investment, a commitment to stewardship of their funds, and the opportunity to join together to focus resources on improving student outcomes in Kansas City's bi-state, urban region.

For more information on the Math Relays, contact Susan Engelman at [email protected] or (913) 645-3534.

SOURCE PREP-KC