50,000 Students Registered Online and Counting

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Real time.  Real fun.  Real improvement in student math skills.  

Powered by Mathletics, the leader in online math education, the American Math Challenge 2010 will take place from October 26, 2010, at 8 a.m. EDT through October 27, 2010 at 11 p.m. EDT.  The free online Challenge encourages U.S. students of all ages to compete against their peers in a series of one-minute math games.

Dubbed "The Human Calculator™" American Math Challenge Ambassador Scott Flansburg is on a mission to change the way kids think about math.  Able to perform math functions at dizzying speed, bestselling author and Guinness World Record Holder Flansburg has spent years debunking the myth that some people are not "math people."

"Most kids get off on the wrong foot when it comes to math," Flansburg noted. "We're reaching out to all students to inspire them to build 'number sense' and be more comfortable with math.  The American Math Challenge helps kids and parents overcome their math anxieties while having fun."

The American Math Challenge, jointly sponsored by the education nonprofit MATHCOUNTS Foundation and Voyager, an intervention company focused on math, reading, and professional development, invites U.S. schools and individual school-age students to sign up on October 4 at www.americanmathchallenge.com.  Registration closes on October 22.

American Math Challenge winners will receive a variety of prizes and recognition.  The Top Five students will be selected to represent the USA Team in World Math Day, taking place in March 2011.  The highest-scoring student will be declared "American Math Champion" and will earn an iPad and a Gold Medal.  Second- and third-place students will be awarded a medal and an iPod Nano.  Additionally, the Top 25 students will receive a certificate and an iPod Shuffle.  

As Ambassador for the American Math Challenge 2010, Flansburg will visit and present to the Top Three scoring schools.  

"In 2009, the American Math Challenge garnered more than 70,000 participants with an overall average improvement of 24 percent," said Flansburg.  "This year, before registration opened, the Challenge already had 50,000 pre-registrants.  We aim to set records and convert all U.S. students into feeling like 'math people.'"

To schedule an interview with Scott Flansburg, or for more information, please contact:  Jodi Bannerman at Janine Gordon Associates:  212.871.3020 x. 107; [email protected].

SOURCE American Math Challenge