José Valdés Math Institute

The José Valdés Math Institute, a local nonprofit organization, was founded by a high school math teacher from Cuba who wanted to improve the math skills of academically-challenged students who were preparing to enter high school at Andrew Hill. His vision was to ensure that underrepresented youth were given equal opportunities to succeed in mathematics. To date, the Institute has provided comprehensive math education to more than 25,000 middle and high school students, including many underserved Latino youth and other youth of color. The José Valdés Math Institute was recently recognized by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics as a “Bright Spot” for helping to close the STEM achievement gap.