Middle School MATHEMATICS Students CLEAN UP at Pride Academy Charter School

Apr 21, 2025 | Blog

Pride Academy Charter School, a leading charter school dedicated to fostering academic excellence and community leadership, proudly announces the participation of its talented middle school mathematicians in the annual MATHCOUNTS® Competition held on February 1, 2025 at Montville High School in Montville, NJ.

A blue text on a black background AI-generated content may be incorrect.MATHCOUNTS® is a nonprofit organization that provides grades 6-8 extracurricular mathematics programs in across all U.S. states and territories. The Competition Series has 4 levels of competition—school, chapter, state and national. Each level of competition is comprised of 4 rounds—Sprint, Target, Team and Countdown Round—each designed to test different aspects of mathematical proficiency. The Sprint round focuses on speed and accuracy were students have 40 minutes to complete 30 math problems without a calculator.  The Target round focuses on problem-solving and mathematical reasoning.  The Team round give students have 20 minutes to complete 10 math problems that focuses on problem-solving and collaboration. The optional Countdown round focuses gives students a maximum of 45 seconds per problem without a calculator to test speed and accuracy.

Congratulations to Maame Danquah at Pride Academy Charter School

Mathematics in Action: Community  Project

Beyond competition, Pride Academy students demonstrated their commitment to community service through this year’s MATHCOUNTS® CleansUp initiative which focuses on Recycling and helping to keep the community clean.   Students took to the streets to make an impact on cleanliness in the community by cleaning up litter, surveying and informing families, investigating alternative recycling methods at the school and implementing a strategy for ongoing neighborhood cleanup.

During the community project students:

  • Collected and analyzed data on neighborhood waste, removing 12 pounds of trash from the city block surrounding the school.
  • Surveyed over 100 students and school staff members regarding littering behaviors, city cleaning and general beliefs concerning community recycling efforts and revealed that 95.4% of respondents agreed that keeping our community clean is a top priority and 91.7% believe that recycling is important should be mandatory.
  • Shared educational materials with the school community regarding the effort to REDUCE, RESUSE & RECYCLE. As it is a requirement by state and municipal law to recycle, East Orange provides recycling pick up on Tuesdays surrounding the school grounds.
  • Led a successful book drive, collecting over 260 used books for redistribution to fellow Pride Academy scholars and Isaiah House, a local non-profit organization that provides food and shelter to children and adults in East Orange.

 

Congratulations to the middle school Math students at Pride Academy Charter School and their Algebra Teacher Mr. Cristian Gardner, whose high expectations for academic excellence and citizenship through community building and project-based learning utilizing mathematical concepts continue to inspire our scholars to reach their full potential.

Pride Academy Charter School goes beyond traditional academics to nurture the whole child. Our scholars thrive in an inclusive environment that celebrates individuality, embraces cultural diversity, and develops leadership through meaningful community engagement. The school’s commitment to personal accountability, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence prepares students not just for academic success, but for lives of purpose and impact.

For more information about Pride Academy Charter School and its innovative approach to education, please visit https://prideacs.org/.

Additional Photos:

A group of people holding bags and walking on a sidewalk AI-generated content may be incorrect.          A child holding a plastic bag AI-generated content may be incorrect.