Math is a Civil Right

A child’s relationship with math impacts their life. Research shows that inequitable access to math literacy (the ability to use math to solve real-world problems) affects an individual’s long-term educational and employment opportunities. Math literacy also impacts larger issues such as social and economic inequalities, public health, political division, and climate change. 

Advanced math education opens doors to:

• College
• Better jobs and STEM careers
• Understanding data, policies, and systems that shape our community
• Participating more fully in society as thoughtful, engaged citizens

Bob Moses, civil rights leader, founder of The Algebra Project, and late Cambridge resident, saw math as essential to our civil rights. But students of color, multilingual learners, and low-income families are often unable to access strong math teaching and advanced courses. The Cambridge STEAM Initiative is co-leading a Math Is a Civil Right movement in Cambridge, alongside the Cambridge Public Schools Math Department and The Young People’s Project, to further advance Bob Moses’s belief that math is a civil right. This collective action brings together a broad coalition of partners, including Agenda for Children OST programs, DHSP youth-serving programs, Tutoring Plus, Science Club for Girls, Cambridge Math Circle, Cambridge School Volunteers, The Hive at the Cambridge Public Library, and others, all working toward a more just and equitable math ecosystem.

Math education is not just about school — it’s about justice, opportunity, and democracy.

Get Involved

Learn more at community screenings of Counted Out, a documentary about how access to math affects our lives and society. After the screening, join the discussion on how to make math education more equitable for all of us, no matter our race, gender, or background.

Sign up to get updates about upcoming screenings.

Math Equity in Cambridge: Recent History

2025 - 2026 (Current)

• Math is a Civil Right Collective Action Group formed, led by STEAM and the Young People's Project (YPP)
• OST Math Equity Lab will offer six professional learning sessions to Out-of-School Time educators. The goal of the OST Math Equity Lab is to equip and inspire OST educators to help youth develop positive math identities and mindsets.
• All OST math grant recipients (see below) will receive program-quality support through observation and coaching focused on purposeful questioning, alignment with CPS math goals, and making real-world connections to math. All recipients also participate actively in the Math is a Civil Right collective-action group.
• Following a summer screening of Counted Out for Cambridge teens, STEAM is developing a storytelling project to spotlight teen experiences and amplify teen voices to drive change in OST and in-school math environments.
• Continuing to host caregiver events that will focus on engaging and informing families about math that is happening in the classrooms. 
  
  
• Building on the collaboration with MathTalk in co-creating the Bob Moses Math Trail, STEAM will continue to deepen engagement with families of young children. The Early Childhood Math Group (Agenda for Children Literacy Initiative, MathTalk, CPS Math, Office of Early Childhood, CPL, DHSP Preschool) will introduce an "Everyday Math" social media campaign and offering Early Childhood Math STEAM Kits at the Cambridge Public Library.
• In May 2026, YPP, STEAM, and CPS will co-host a Citywide Math Playground event for families, featuring math activities designed and led by Cambridge young people (grades 4–12), followed by YPP’s National Flagway Tournament in the afternoon. 

2024 - 2025:

• City funding allows the STEAM Initiative to support three OST math programs. Through an RFP, the Young People’s Project, Tutoring Plus, and Cambridge Math Circle are selected as grant recipients.
• In collaboration with Agenda for Children OST (AFCOST), STEAM presents an interactive Math is a Civil Right exhibit at the 2024 OST Symposium. 
• Building off of that momentum, STEAM, CPS Math, YPP, and DHSP hosts a screening of the documentary Counted Out for the Out-of-School Time community to anchor a conversation on “Math is a Civil Right” and the impact of inequitable access to math literacy on college access, economic mobility, and active participation in our democracy.
• From this screening, a desire emerges for a collective action group focused on Math is a Civil Right.

2023 - 2024

• Districtwide K–8 Math Mindsets data is gathered, and analysis of fall 2024 math mindsets data reveals a strong, consistent positive correlation with upper school MCAS results (spring 2023).

2022 - 2023

• Math Mindsets data collection expands to Rindge Avenue Upper Campus and Putnam Ave Upper School. STEAM and CPS Math collaborate with the Algebra Project and YPP to shift classroom structures toward greater student voice, agency, and a commitment to math as a civil right.

2021 - 2022

• Bob Moses Math Trail launches
• STEAM convenes an early childhood math group (Agenda for Children–Literacy Initiative, MathTalk, CPS Math, Office of Early Childhood, CPL, DHSP Preschool) to continue family-centered work. 
• STEAM partners with YPP and CPS Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging on Bob Moses’ final project, The National Consensus Project to Eliminate Caste in America's Classrooms. As a part of this work, STEAM and CPS leaders gather post-pandemic Cambridge Street Upper School math mindset data and open broader district math equity conversations.

2019 - 2020

• The Cambridge Family Policy Council launches Math Matters for Equity to address upper school math achievement gaps. The steering committee opts to hire a consultant to lead a citywide math campaign.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Math Matters for Equity redirects resources to the Cambridge STEAM Initiative to support families and young children in The Port neighborhood.
• The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) updates its guidance and encouraged districts to focus remote learning on “prerequisite” or “critical” standards essential for success in the next grade level. As a result, the CPS Math Department temporarily paused its implementation of Algebra for all 8th grade students.
• In partnership with MathTalk, the Young People’s Project (YPP), Tutoring Plus, and CPS, STEAM co-creates the Bob Moses Math Trail with Port residents.

2017 - 2018

• Cambridge Street Upper School (CSUS) launches an accelerated pathway enabling all students to take Algebra in 8th grade. Other Upper Schools adopt this model the following year.