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THE 1954 PROJECT

2021

LUMINARY

Adrian Mims

Founder & CEO

The Calculus Project

About the Leader

Dr. Adrian B. Mims Sr. is the Founder and CEO of The Calculus Project (TCP), a nonprofit that partners with families, community-based organizations, school districts, and higher education institutions to ensure Black, Latinx, and economically disadvantaged students have the support they need to succeed in honors and advanced mathematics. The Calculus Project has impacted over 10,000 students in over 100 middle and high schools in Massachusetts and Florida, and in 2011, the initiative was inducted into the Minority Student Achievement Network's Promising Practices Clearinghouse. Since its inception, thousands of Black and Latinx students who were once missing from AP Calculus and high school calculus courses now pursue post-secondary opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and thrive in a technologically advanced workforce. Dr. Mims' work has been recognized nationally, including as a Bright Spot in Middle Years Math by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Adrian has a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina, two master's degrees from Simmons College, and his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Boston College.

About the Work

The Calculus Project (TCP) is a grassroots-style initiative to dramatically increase the number of students of color and low-income students who complete AP Calculus in high school. TCP is defined by its comprehensiveness, its very high expectations, its cultural sensitivity, and its commitment to sustainability. - TCP schools offer preparatory courses in the summer, and re-teaching/tutoring during the school year, supporting mathematics instruction from grade 8 through grade 12. - TCP schools intentionally group students of color and low-income students in the same class. Research shows this creates a more comfortable and productive academic environment for these students. - TCP schools offer after-school study groups with teacher support. This gives students the content knowledge, the skills, and more confidence to succeed in high-level math classes. The after-school study groups often evolve into student-run “beyond school” voluntary study groups, which is rarely seen with historically underperforming students. - The Pride Curriculum provides instruction on the historical accomplishments of STEM leaders of color. - TCP enables some students to become peer teachers during the 11th and 12th grades.

THE 1954 PROJECT

Investing in Durable Leadership & Institutions

The 1954 Project identifies visionary education leaders whose work is strengthening Black communities and invests in them and what they are building with significant, flexible capital and long-term relationship.

 

Named for the year of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, The 1954 Project honors that promise by backing leaders closest to the work with resources that follow their vision. 

This is philanthropy shaped by trust in leaders and commitment to what they’re building.

Meet More of the Network

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i.c.stars

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Birmingham Promise

Hiewet Senghor

Black Teacher Collaborative

Nicole Lynn Lewis

Generation Hope

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