Page 4
B ack to S chool
September 2, 2020
Online Math for Black Boys
Math Moxie
taught by black
male teachers
Comcast has announced a new Xfinity internet offer to support
teachers and school staff with online education during COVID-19.
Teacher Support for
Online Learning
With the school year set to be-
gin we’ve seen a lot of attention
on how families can get the Inter-
net and technology services they
need to help students be success-
ful during another year of online
learning.
But what about the instructors
and staff? Some teachers are ex-
periencing similar affordability
and access issues as their students.
To help address this issue and
support educators in Oregon and
southwest Washington, Comcast
is offering two free months of ser-
vice throughout the fall to keep
them connected.
The new Xfinity Internet offer
for K-12 teachers and adminis-
trators as well as university fac-
ulty and staff will provide about
two months of free Internet ser-
vice, valued at about $150, when
they sign up for a Xfinity pack-
age.
“With learning looking very
different this year across the
country, we want to help give
our educators the connectivity
they need to support America’s
youth during these unprecedent-
ed times,” said Dana Strong of
Xfinity Consumer Services
For more information and to
sign up for this offer, visit xfinity.
com/teacher.
Math Moxie, a revolutionary
online math program for Black
boys in middle school and taught
by Black male math teachers is set
to launch this fall, a new resource
as so many children are doing re-
mote learning because of the coro-
navirus pandemic.
The instruction is strategically
designed to help meet the needs
of Black male youth to escape the
prevalence of underachievement
in math, lower their rate of ex-
pulsions and placement in special
education programs, and avoid the
school-to-prison pipeline.
Developed by multicultural ed-
ucation specialist and award-win-
ning instructional designer Steph-
anie Sasser, the goals of Math
Moxie are to improve the chil-
drens’ performance in school,
boost their self-esteem, and re-
duce the overall dropout rate for
A new online mathematics enrichment program is designed for black
boys and taught by black male teachers. Photo courtesy Blacknews.com.
Black boys across the country.
“Alarmingly, only 13% of Black
boys are proficient in math when they
leave the 8th grade, and only 59% go
on to graduate from high school,”
said Sasser. “With COVID-19 add-
ing further barriers to education, the
time to take action is now.”
Research shows that Black
boys benefit greatly from having
Black male teachers. Sadly, these
teachers make up only 2% of the
U.S. teaching workforce.
Math Moxie also addresses the
math curriculum needs of a grow-
ing number of Black parents elect-
ing to homeschool their children
due to concerns about their chil-
dren’s negative experiences in tra-
ditional school settings, and will
help reduce the widening achieve-
ment gaps likely to be caused by
school budget shortfalls caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although this program is geared
toward Black boys, all children in
grades 6-8 are welcome.
For more information, visit
MathMoxie.com or send an email
to support@mathmoxie.com.
Violence Turns Deadly with Dueling Protests
c ontinued froM f ront
p.m. where they located the body
of Aaron “Jay” Danielson, 39, a
Portland man.
Video circulating on social media
give some insight to the shooting,
with recorded sounds indicating
there may have been a confrontation
between the protester and shoot-
er with toxic bear spray deployed
before shots rang out. It happened
after a rally by counter protesters
to those associated with Portland’s
Black Lives Matter movement. Dis-
playing pro Trump flags, hundreds
of the conservative protestors gath-
ered at Clackamas Town Center
and then moved toward downtown
in pickups and big rig trucks, with
some openly carrying guns and oth-
ers firing paintballs into people on
the street.
Authorities said Danielson and
a friend were seen heading down-
town to join the Trump supporters.
They wore hats with the insignia
of Patriot Prayer, a group that
has clashed with left-wing pro-
testers in Portland for years, and
appeared armed with knives and
paintball guns.
Police Chief Chuck Lovell
asked the public to give the de-
tectives time to do their important
work before drawing conclusions
about the shooting.
“If anyone can provide infor-
mation about this case, I ask them
to please reach out to our detec-
tives. This violence is completely
unacceptable and we are working
diligently to find and apprehend
the individual or individuals re-
sponsible,” Lovell said.
In cellphone video of the shoot-
ing, both Danielson and his assail-
ant were seen on a darkened street.
We are Open!
For your light bulbs
& parts to repair or
make fixtures
503.281.0453
Fax 503.281.3408
3901 N. Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227
Web: www.sunlanlighting.com • E-mail: kay@sunlanlighting.com
At least three shots rang out in a
smoky haze, followed by imag-
es of Danielson crumpled on the
ground as a friend, Chandler Pap-
pas, slaps him in the face and rolls
him over, yelling “Jay! Jay!”
“He was a good man and he
was just killed senselessly for
no reason other than he believed
something different than they do,”
Pappas told supporters during a
rally Sunday. “He was Christian.
He was conservative.”
Ex-girlfriend Christine Banks
said Monday Danielson didn’t
discuss politics much but of the
weeks-long protests in Portland:
“He didn’t think it was right. ...
He was there for peace.”
Critics have said that instead of
keeping the peace, Patriot Prayer
has helped incite violence. Last
month in nearby Gresham, Pap-
pas showed up to counter a Black
Lives Matter event and, according
to the Portland Tribune, declared:
“I came here ready for war.”
Portland police have yet to
make an arrest. On Monday, they
asked for witnesses and those who
had taken video of the scene to
contact them.
A small memorial to Danielson
took shape Monday on a sidewalk
in front of the parking structure
where he collapsed. It included
four yellow daises tied to a tree,
a small American flag flapping
in the wind, and a sympathy card
with a Bible verse and handwrit-
ten note.
“Jay went to Jesus, where will
you go?”
--Associated Press contributed
to this story.