Pursuing Greatness at Math Corps: Changing the Way Students View Math in Detroit through Esprit de Corps

The achievement gap has been plaguing educators and researchers for decades. While some find possible answers in psychology, others believe a culturally specific approach to education would provide a resolution, and some believe it to be both. The only way of finding a viable solution is to examine student assessment data, study programs designed to tackle the achievement gap, and decide what can be extrapolated and applied on a larger scale to narrow the gap even further. While there are numerous programs in the United States designed to tackle the achievement gap, Detroit is home to one that advantageously utilizes its university location to prepare African-American children in the city for the adjustments that higher education and life will require from them. By using Math Corps as a case study, this thesis analyzes the success of a program whose leaders focus narrowly on aspects of a child’s education that the leaders do have control over such as course pace, safety, and respect. Discussions surrounding these experiences are relayed through interview transcripts and articles written by Math Corps leadership. These interviews reveal specific ways in which children feel supported and inspired by academic staff through group work and identity-affirming interactions