On July 2, 2025, the Bob Moses Research Center for Math Literacy through Public Education welcomed a group of educational leaders to Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus for a site visit to the Algebra Project's Accessible Calculus Project (ACP) summer convening. The event offered a rare, hands-on look at how ACP is working to expand access to calculus by reshaping how it is introduced in high school mathematics.
Participants included leaders from Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools, the Miccosukee Indian School, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, Overtown Youth Center, the Belafonte Tacolcy Center, and OIC of South Florida. Together, they observed teachers and students immersed in the ACP's model for professional learning and curriculum development.
The Accessible Calculus Project is a three-year national research collaboration between the Algebra Project, the Center for Innovation in STEM Education Research at Kennesaw State University, and the National Society of Black Engineers. It challenges traditional approaches to calculus by embedding its concepts into Algebra II using tangible, real world representations. The project introduces differential and integral calculus through a geometric foundation and a Five-Step Curricular Process that centers the voices of students and teachers. Through this collaborative approach, ACP aims to deepen mathematical understanding and grow the pool of students who are prepared for STEM pathways.
The site visit began with a briefing led by Bill Crombie, Director of Professional Development for the Algebra Project, and Sara Weinberg. They introduced the goals and structure of the ACP, described lessons emerging from the Miami convening, and outlined what visitors would experience in the next hour.
Participants then joined a session with students and teachers where they played Let's Take a Trip!, a card game developed by the Algebra Project as a conceptual entry point to advanced mathematics. The game is simple and accessible, but it opens the door to ideas that become foundational for future study in calculus.
After the visit, Lovely Noel of the Overtown Youth Center reflected on what the experience meant:
"It was truly inspiring to be in a space focused on empowerment and educational excellence, especially as it relates to math and its critical role in the future of our youth."
For the Moses Center, the visit was a chance to bring the legacy of Bob Moses into present-day conversations about mathematics and public education. Moses redefined early access to algebra as a form of literacy essential to full participation in society. The Accessible Calculus Project carries that legacy forward, challenging the idea that calculus is only for an elite few and demonstrating what becomes possible when more students are given meaningful access.
Bill Crombie spoke to this directly:
"There is no mathematical foundation for privileged access to calculus. That structure was created through policies and traditions that can be changed. The project is an effort to make that change real by designing curriculum that brings students into calculus through ideas they already understand."
The site visit was just one moment in a much larger movement to advance math literacy in the nation's public schools. As local leaders left FIU's Biscayne Bay Campus, they carried with them new ideas, new questions, and a shared sense that this work is both necessary and possible in South Florida.