Kay Toliver is a teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 specialising in mathematics education

Mathematics education

In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....

.

Background

Kay Toliver was born and raised in East Harlem and the South Bronx

South Bronx

The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....

. A product of the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 public school system, she graduated from Harriet Beecher Stowe Junior High, Walton High School

Walton High School (New York City)

Walton High School was a secondary school located in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx borough in New York.Walton's colors were sky blue and white. Its motto Semper Fidelis means "always faithful". The school seal is an open book supported by the torch of learning, and the school crest...

 and Hunter College

Hunter College

Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...

 (AB 1967, MA 1971) with graduate work at the City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

 in mathematics.

For more than 30 years, Kay Toliver taught mathematics and communication arts at P.S. 72/East Harlem Tech in Community School District 4. Prior to instructing seventh and eight grade students, she taught grades one through six for 15 years.

"Becoming a teacher was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My parents always stressed that education was the key to a better life. By becoming a teacher, I hoped to inspire African-American and Hispanic youths to realize their own dreams. I wanted to give something back to the communities I grew up in."

At East Harlem Tech, with the support of her principal, she established the "Challenger" program. The program, for grades 4-8, presents the basics of geometry

Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....

 and algebra

Algebra

Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...

 in an integrated curriculum. This is a program for "gifted" students, but following her belief that all children can learn, she accepted students from all ability levels.

The Math Fair

These events are similar to science fairs but involve students in creating and displaying projects relating to mathematics. Participants had to be able to explain thoroughly the mathematical theories and concepts behind their projects, which were placed on display at the school so that students from the lower grades could examine the older students' research. Students have created mathematic games such as "Dunking for Prime Numbers," "Fishing for Palindromes," and "Black Jack Geometry."

The Math Trail

Kay Toliver developed a lesson called the "Math Trail" to give students an appreciation for the community

Community

The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...

 as well as an opportunity to see mathematics at work. To create a Math Trail, the class must first do some research on the history of the community. Then, they are instructed to plot a course, starting from the school building, that leads the class through the community and back to school, with stops along the way to visit several sites and create math problems about various real-life situations.

Teaching Honors

• Presidential Awardee Secondary Mathematics, State and National levels
• Reliance Award for Excellence in Education, Middle School
• Outstanding Teacher for Mathematics Instruction, Disney American Teacher Awards
• Fellow of FAME (Foundation for the Advancement of Mathematics Education)
• Featured in the Peabody Award
  Peabody Award
  The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
  
  -winning PBS special, "Good Morning Miss Toliver," and the Peabody Award-winning classroom series, "The Eddie Files".
• Outstanding Educator of the Year, National Conference on Diversity in the Scientific and Technological Workforce (National Science Foundation
  National Science Foundation
  The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
  
  ).
• Kilby Award
• Essence Award

External links

• Kay Toliver Math Program