From Classrooms to Change The importance of education and educators by Madison Butchko Classrooms weren’t just places of learning for me; they were my second home. With both my parents as teachers, I’ve been immersed in the world of teaching from the very beginning. After my elementary school day ended, while my parents were still working, I’d settle into the back of my mom’s classroom. There, I’d read, fold origami from printer paper, or attempt redecorating her classroom. What I loved most was writing fun messages and doodling cute animals on the whiteboard. For middle school, I attended the same …

Students in the Global Teaching Project’s Advanced STEM Access Program just concluded the academic year by taking Advanced Placement exams in AP Biology, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Physics 1, and AP Statistics. 
 
Simply by taking the exams, our students earned a place among the state’s top students. 

The Global Teaching Project’s eighth annual Advanced STEM Summer Preparatory Program will be held June 17 – June 21 at Mississippi State University in Starkville.  The Summer Program provides valuable preparation for students who will be taking AP Science courses through Global Teaching Project in the 2024-2025 academic year. The Summer Program provides, free of charge: Immersive instruction from experienced, AP-certified instructors and other subject matter experts Extensive tutoring and academic support from Teaching Assistants who are STEM majors at, or recent graduates of, prominent universities across the country—including Yale, Virginia, Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and elsewhere Lodging in Mississippi State dormitories Meals at Mississippi State dining halls Recreational activities at Mississippi State facilities Workshops on college admissions and financial aid in which each student will create a college …

This story is part of the 2024 Journey to Commencement series, which celebrates the pinnacle of the academic year by highlighting University of Mississippi students and their outstanding academic and personal journeys from college student to college graduate.

Thanks to the dedication of many administrators, teachers, students, and staff, the 2024 Advanced STEM Instructional Program in Jackson was, as one of our AP Physics teachers commented, “a huge success”, drawing approximately 200 students and educators.

This academic year, the Global Teaching Project has added a new, fourth course to its AP STEM offerings: AP Statistics.  

UVA Today published an article last week on our initiative to provide promising high school students in rural Mississippi communities access to the advanced STEM courses they need to achieve their full potential, but which their schools otherwise may not be able to offer. The article focuses on one of our graduates—Jalil Jiminez of Ecru, Mississippi, who is now a First Year at Virginia—as well as the UVA tutor, Marcos Gonzalez, who worked with Jalil on his AP coursework and guided him in the college admissions process. In the article, Jalil recounts his path to Charlottesville: “I think that without the Global Teaching …