This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Lassiter Grad's Efforts Attract National Attention

The University of Georgia's MATHCOUNTS program that Phillip Mote established has helped Athens middle school students improve their math skills.

The rewards of learning and enjoying math came early for Phillip Mote.

As a Simpson Middle School eighth-grader, Mote won the county MATHCOUNTS competition and brought home a trophy and a new 10-inch Sony color television.

Mote’s passion for math continued to grow during his time at Lassiter High School. All four years, he represented the school on the 15-person state math team and competed at the national competition held annually in June at Penn State University.

Find out what's happening in Northeast Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mote’s math skills helped him earn a Foundation Fellowship, a coveted full-ride academic scholarship to the University of Georgia.

“I was actually looking to go out of state,” said Mote, a senior double majoring in biochemistry and economics. “I was looking at going to Vanderbilt and Duke.”

Find out what's happening in Northeast Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But the opportunities that came with being a Foundation Fellow – international travel-study programs and honors classes – cemented Mote’s choice to attend UGA.

“I was looking to give back to the community my freshman year,” said Mote, who plans to attend medical school after his May graduation. “I wanted to use MATHCOUNTS where I could help and mentor students in the middle school atmosphere. I thought it would be cool to go back and mentor middle school students while in college because you have that kind of flexibility with your schedule.”

Knowing firsthand how “awkward” and “exciting” middle school years could be, Mote contacted Clarke Middle School in Athens about starting a MATHCOUNTS program. According to the national MATHCOUNTS website, the 28-year program is a “national enrichment, club and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement.”

But since Clarke Middle already had a program, he consulted with UGA faculty members and they decided to add a MATHCOUNTS Outreach program at the school as well – becoming only the second university in the country to offer an outreach portion after Yale. The outreach program differs from the MATHCOUNTS competition-orientated program by focusing more on mentoring, math instruction and instilling a love for mathematics.

“It was sort of challenging because it was just me and the teachers working with these 20 students,” Mote said. “I then started asking other Fellows, advertised on campus and worked with the honors program.”

Mote has since been able to recruit 95 UGA students to volunteer in the school's MATHCOUNTS Outreach program.  

“I went to that one school and now it’s at 10 schools public and private, all within 20-25 minutes of the university,” he said. “What we’ve done is bring MATHCOUNTS to those schools and some of those schools had it and what we try to do is bring that 3 to 1 ratio to those schools. We wanted to make it more fun, an exploration time rather than just a rigid competition structure.”

Clarke Middle School teacher Summer Tuggle has been impressed by her students’ commitment to MATHCOUNTS.

“I consistently have between 20 and 30 middle school kids come to school an hour early to do math,” Tuggle said. “The UGA volunteers are crucial because they work with the kids in small groups. They are there to provide a guide through tough math problems. I love to hear the ‘math talk’ that occurs on Tuesdays and Thursdays!”

Mote’s efforts have also been appreciated by Sam Holmes, the chairman of the University of Georgia Foundation. MATHCOUNTS recently was recognized as the best new UGA student campus organization or group when it won the SOAR Award.

“MATHCOUNTS is such a wonderful initiative that has had such a positive impact on students across the country and I am so proud to see one of our Foundation Fellows taking a leadership role in expanding the math program’s reach in Georgia,” Holmes said. “Phillip Mote is a fine example of the type of students who earn Foundation Fellowships.”

Making math fun through hands-on activities such as using pipe cleaners and straws to build three-dimensional models or breaking down strategy for games like tic-tac-toe are some of the things Mote is most proud about bringing to the Athens middle school students.

“What I love about it is how it’s really evolved,” said Mote, who has an older sister, Heather, and whose parents are Jonathan and Susan Mote. “I had only a vision for one school and now it’s at 10 schools and each school is different.

“It comes down to the small group environment and working with a couple of these middle school students throughout the year and hanging out with them and building that mentorship relationship with them,” he added. “I’ve gotten more reward out of seeing them run with it, seeing them give me feedback and take it as their own.”

Mote said the national MATHCOUNTS Foundation, based in Alexandria, Va., currently is looking at UGA’s MATHCOUNTS Outreach model in an effort to bring it other universities across the country.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Northeast Cobb