Katerina Milvidskaia, Resident Skeptic
A dynamic math teacher and curriculum designer committed to transforming math-fearing and math-hating students into lifelong math-loving skeptics. Recognized as a national expert in distilling mathematical concepts into understandable problem-solving through teamwork and ground-breaking lesson plans. Tireless champion for students who have been left behind or fallen through the cracks. Vanquishing the myths of “I hate math”, “I can’t do math”, and “I’m not a math person” one student at a time. Boundless energy and enthusiasm in the classroom powered by coffee and the belief that anyone can become confident in math with the right teacher and the willingness to question everything.
Sarah Strong, Mathematical Guide
Sarah Strong has taught math to grades 6 through 12 at High Tech High in San Diego. She also works for the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, teaching Math Methods and Advanced Math Pedagogy courses and supporting the new math teachers in the organization. She helps design and run the Math Agency Improvement Community, and has led workshops on Project Based Learning (PBL) in mathematics, and been a leader of the High Tech High ASCENT team focused on using improvement science to improve math in the PBL classroom. She helped design curriculum for a few years, working on a grant with Illustrative Mathematics and Mathalicious. She now primarily designs curriculum for her own classroom, creating projects with her teaching partners that use math as a lens to better understand the world. She also loves supporting students with fractured math identities restore their confidence and find value and meaning in the math classroom!
Sarah recently co-authored a book with her student Gigi called, “Dear Math”
Dr. Cate Challen, Mathematical Guide
Dr. Cate Challen is a former high school mathematics teacher and tireless proponent of the concept that all humans have mathematical brilliance. Cate taught high school mathematics for 5 years at High Tech High North County and Media Arts and used creative, open-ended problems to elevate students’ mathematical ideas, particularly those that have often been marginalized in mathematics classes. She is currently an improvement coach working within the Center for Research on Equity and Innovation at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education where she coaches teachers on ways to use continuous improvement to create more inclusive classrooms for all students.