Detroit Mathematics and Science Center

Alycia Meriweather
Interim Director

Detroit International Academy - Room 119
9026 Woodward
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone: (313) 873-4519
Fax: (313) 873-0570

Delbra Robinson, Mathematics Specialist

Region Served

The Detroit Mathematics and Science Center serves the students and staff of Detroit, Michigan. Our main area of focus is the Detroit Public Schools system, Michigan’s largest school district, at nearly 90,000 students in 172 schools throughout the city of Detroit

Students in the Detroit Public Schools are a microcosm of diverse talent upon which the United States will depend in the not too distant future.

Mission

The Detroit Mathematics and Science Center will function to improve the quality of mathematics and science education for all Detroit Students and will provide a foundation of skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will enable them to function and live successfully in a technological society.

Leadership

The Detroit Center assesses needs, leverages resources, and promotes collaboration in improving mathematics and science education. The primary function of the center is to create an infrastructure to coordinate and disseminate opportunities to improve the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science. The Detroit Center is dedicated to providing leadership both in Detroit and in the state of Michigan, through active participation in the Michigan Mathematics and Science Network.

The Detroit Center provides assistance and exemplars in the form of consultants, resource teachers, and supervisors in mathematics and science education. The staff provides support, technical assistance, and access to the latest developments in mathematics and science education.

Student Services

The Center offers systems that provide students with academic enhancement opportunities. The goal of the Center is to increase the number of Mathematics and Science related opportunities available within the district and to promote equity among schools in terms of what is available to students across the region. Programs include Academic Games, Science Fairs, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), You Be the Chemist, Recycling Initiative, Multiplication Bee, and Project SEED. The Center also works with teachers directly to deliver materials and provide demonstration lessons, which service the students as well.

Curriculum Support

The Detroit Mathematics and Science Centers' programs support core curriculum and alignment activities that are informed by national and state standards in mathematics and science. Curricula offered in Mathematics and Science is comprehensive, challenging, engaging and technically sound. Additionally, the Detroit Center is developing intervention kits to assist teachers with areas that have proven to be difficult concepts for students. These kits will include materials that may not regularly be available to the teacher at their school site, but would strongly support student understanding, and align to the curriculum.

Community Involvement

The Detroit Center provides services to parents and the broader community. In addition to providing strategies to assist parents with Mathematics and Science at home, the Detroit Center also supports Family Math & Science Events through training and loaning kits for these events.

A variety of community partners provide services necessary for sustained support of Center programs, including resources and contexts for real-world applications of content learned. These partners include universities/colleges as well as businesses.

Professional Development

The Detroit Center provides coordinated programs of sustained staff development to mathematics and science teachers that promote the delivery of quality instruction for all students. Teachers are prepared in content and strategies that facilitate improved student achievement. The professional development provided through the Detroit Center utilizes best practices and is data driven.

Resource Clearinghouse

The Detroit Center resource clearinghouse is stocked with materials to assist K-12 classroom practice in Mathematics and Science. The Center provides resources to teachers, parents, and the community. Our resource clearinghouse is located at the Detroit International Academy (9026 Woodward, Detroit, Michigan, 48202). All items at the Resource Clearinghouse are designated for Detroit student use, and are FREE for to borrow. Just call the Center! (313-873-4519).

Another purpose of the Resource Clearinghouse is to provide a venue for teachers to learn how to use equipment and other materials, so there is space at the Center for practice! The Center can also be utilized for professional development sessions and other Mathematics or Science related meetings.

In addition to the materials at the Resource Center, mini-grants are provided to teachers to assist in implementing learned strategies, and databases are maintained which include Center programs and best practices.

Governance

The Detroit Center is a program of the Detroit Public Schools. Administrative responsibility for the programs of the Detroit Center belongs to the Division of Academic Affairs.