Distance Learning

Broward County Schools to Expand Online Math Program for Gifted Students

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 08/02/16

Florida's Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) will expand its use of an online math program for gifted students from about 40 students to several hundred over the course of the next few years.

The district has been using Elements of Mathematics: Foundations (EMF), from the Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (IMACS), "an online curriculum that teaches pre-algebra through pre-calculus plus several more advanced subjects in just three years," according to a news release. "Graduates will be ready to study Advanced Placement calculus in ninth grade. The program also happens to coverFlorida's math standards for sixth, seventh and eighth grades, which allows BCPS to offer EMF as a complete math curriculum for the District's middle school students."

A recent survey of parents of students who use EMF suggested parents had a favorable opinion of the program and nine of 10 students who used it last year in grade 6 chose to use it this year in grade 7, as well.

"BCPS wants our students to have the very best preparation in mathematical thinking and complex problem-solving," said Guy Barmoha, director of the Math, Science and Gifted Department for BCPS, in a prepared statement. "The EMF pilot was a success, and the self-study, online format makes it relatively easy to scale up, even for a large school district like ours."