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The José Valdés Math Institute is an organization whose mission is to improve students' skills in math and
close the achievement gap in San Jose and Silicon Valley.
The original vision of Mr. José Valdés was to ensure
that minority and underrepresented children be given equal
opportunities to succeed in mathematics. This ideal provides the
foundation of our philosophy at Valdés.
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Committment
Families
Parents/Guardians
of participating students must commit to attending the registration
meeting and at least one parent summer meeting, and to be actively
involved in the education of their children in the Institute.
All
first-time participants are expected to attend at least one
informational meeting so that they may understand the commitment
necessary from both the student and family. This entails encouraging
their child to work hard on all homework and classwork, and to strive
for perfect attendance and appropriate behavior. Parents, the child's
first teacher, must serve as the key motivators for their child's
success.
Staff
The
Jose Valdes Summer Math Institute has as its backbone the class
teaching teams, each composed of one teacher and two program
assistants. The teams are balanced for experience, gender, and
ethnicity to provide students with a view of different members of their
community demonstrating knowledge and success in mathematics. Each team
works individually and collectively to provide for the various learning
needs of each student in their classroom.
Teachers
for the Valdes Institute are selected from new and experienced teachers
in the elementary, middle and secondary schools in the South Bay Area.
All teachers believe in the potential of the students and their ability
to do mathematics. They train together, once a month, during the winter
and spring, reviewing the philosophy of the Institute, exploring a
variety of teaching materials and methodologies.
Program
assistants are absolutely essential to the success of the students and
the Institute. Each class has two program assistants who do everything
necessary and possible so that the teacher can teach and the students
can learn. By lowering the instructor/student ratio, students are able
to get their questions answered as they occur.
Program
assistants are role models for the students, not just becasue they
represent the ethnic goups in the area, but also because most of them
are very successful in college (a few are high school seniors). Many
former program assistants have completed their studies and returned to
teach in the Valdes Summer Math Institute.
Staff Development
Staff
development is an integral part of the success of the Valdes Institute.
Teachers prepare months in advance to deliver clear mathematics
instruction to their students. Teachers are trained together once a
month, during winter and spring, beginning each year with a review of
the philosophy of the Institute.
The
training is designed so teachers are empowered to make all major
decisions affecting the program. A portion of each training session is
also spent exploring a variety of teaching materials and methodologies.
Staff development prepares teachers, like students, to experience
success in mathematics.
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