Creator(s): James D’Elia, Tehani Cabour, McKenna Quam
Course: DS4200 Information Presentation and Visualization
Seeing the long-lasting effects discrepancies in public education have on the overarching racial and social issues of a city, Dr. Case decided to found Bridge to Calculus (BTC), a program which prepares students from underserved high schools in Boston for AP Calculus. Prior to BTC, this key AP course was not offered at most underserved schools due to lack of demand and training, putting the affected students at an early disadvantage. By collaborating with the students’ high school teachers, BTC supplies existing education systems with resources and know-how, thereby building a self-sustaining model. This goes beyond empowering the directly participating students, as it gives the school systems themselves the ability to push against the existent inequality. For the program to persist in its growth, it requires an increase in funding and participating students. We are collaborating with Professor Veetel to deliver data visualizations with the intent of 1) convincing program funders and 2) encouraging local schools to promote the program to students’ parents. We have been supplied with data on attending student demographics (gender/ethnicity/age) as well as student performances and behaviors both pre- and post-program. While all stakeholders need to understand the student performance data, funders would additionally require information on demographic distributions.