Youth from underserved communities will gain experience teaching math
TELUS Friendly Future Foundation® is helping The Robertson Program for Inquiry-based Teaching in Math and Science provide youth from underserved communities an opportunity to gain experience teaching math.
“We are thrilled to be able to grow our Online Playful Math program to include youth mentorship,” says Dr. Larisa Lam, Director of The Robertson Program. “This initiative was inspired by former participants of Online Playful Math who showed an interest in continuing to participate but were too old for the program. The Youth Mentorship program is exciting because it gives youth a unique virtual opportunity to gain skills in mathematics, learn from educators, and see themselves as future teachers.”
The Robertson Program for Inquiry-based Teaching in Math and Science at the University of Toronto makes math and science education accessible to teachers and students. One way of accomplishing this is through programming with children. Online Playful Math is an after-school program that gives small groups of children the opportunity to meet with an educator weekly to practice math skills in a playful way. With the help of TELUS, we are expanding this program to include a Youth Mentorship component for high school students. Youth will be paired with an educator and together they will lead Online Playful Math sessions. Youth will gain authentic experiences working with children, high school volunteer hours, and the opportunity to learn more about university.
“We’ve heard from our charity partners about the challenges underserved youth in their community are facing,” says Shanan Spencer-Brown, Executive Director of TELUS Friendly Future Foundation. “We are honoured to be able to support The Robertson Program, with a donation of $20,000 from the TELUS Greater Toronto Area Community Board. We are so appreciative of the work The Robertson Program is doing in their community, supporting underserved youth and children in the GTA.”
About the Robertson Program
The Robertson Program is making math and science education accessible to teachers through professional development and programming for students from underserved communities. The Robertson Program is a part of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
For more information on The Roberson Program, please visit www.therobertsonprogram.com.
About TELUS Friendly Future Foundation
Founded in 2018, TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is an independent registered charity. Our mission is to help connect youth to a world of opportunities by supporting Canadian organizations that offer health, education or technology programs. We have provided more than $24 million in grants to community-based, provincial, territorial and national charities that help at-risk youth thrive in a digital world.
For more information on TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, visit www.friendlyfuture.com.
