Bridge to Calculus

Bridge to Calculus prepares high school students to take AP calculus and other calculus courses, mainly through its signature program, an intensive six-week summer session on the Northeastern University campus, as well as the annual Calculus Field Day, and support channels like the Virtual Math Question Center. The success of Bridge to Calculus has been widely acknowledged by many, including former Boston mayor Marty Walsh and MA State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez.

About Bridge to Calculus

Bridge to Calculus was founded by Northeastern professor Dr. Robert Case to empower children from Boston’s underserved communities to succeed in advanced math classes.

This program is built on the need to address racial and social justice issues as they affect Boston’s youth. What distinguishes this program from others is the collaboration between Boston Public School teachers, Northeastern faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni of the program—who all come together to craft and deliver the Bridge to Calculus.

Employers in our region, especially those with co-op positions, require coding skills and mathematical modeling, as well as strong mathematical skills. Students participating in Bridge to Calculus gain an imperative competitive edge that makes them imminently hirable. And because Bridge to Calculus works to strengthen the school system, the success of the program contributes to the greater success of Boston Public Schools.

Bob Case, founder of Bridge to Calculus, sits, participates in classroom activity

Bridge to Calculus pushes for Boston students to receive a strong mathematics curriculum in their schools, focusing on expanding the capacity of the schools themselves. In fact, Boston high school teachers are the primary instructors, playing an integral role in all facets of the program, while Northeastern University faculty offer support and guidance.

Students who participate in Bridge to Calculus are positioned for college acceptance and prepared for college success through key partnerships and a network of undergraduate mentors.

We partner with the Bottom Line, a college preparatory counseling group focusing on low-income students and students whose parents did not attend college.
Mentoring is a crucial component — two or more mentors are assigned to each classroom.

Bridge to Calculus is a dedicated, long-term partner with the Boston Public Schools and has received support from many other donors, including the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation, the Cabot Foundation, and the Mathematical Association of America.

What is Bridge to Calculus?

A Brief History

Programs

$teacher explains math problem on chalkboard$

Summer Program
Over the course of six plus one weeks, high school students will have the opportunity to participate in an intensive program at Northeastern University, to prepare for and succeed in future math courses. Additional enrichment programs are included!
$Student is working on a math problem using a graphing calculator$

Math Question Center
The Math Question Center is an online space designed to support students throughout the academic year. With support from a vast group of mentors, students can drop in to ask for help with homework, get advice on preparing for college, and work with peers to tackle interesting math problems.
Calculus Field Day
Over 100 students from across Boston Public Schools come to Northeastern University one day a year to compete in teams of three, in challenging and stimulating tests in Precalculus and AP Calculus.
Mini Conferences
BtC’s Mini Conferences connect students with STEM departments, BPS teachers, sponsors, and industry experts fostering collaboration and networking opportunities in Bridge to Science.

Our Team

Meet the leaders, instructors, mentors, and project managers who enable the success of the Bridge to Calculus program and its students.

Meet our Team

Robert Case
Born and raised in Boston, Robert Case attended public school from kindergarten until graduation. Dr. Case spent much of his youth playing baseball and hockey on the playgrounds and frozen ponds in and around Boston—but remembers how fortunate he was to have extraordinary, inspiring teachers during that time, especially his math teacher, Arthur Leary, at […]
Donald King
Donald King was a faculty member in the math department of Northeastern University for almost 40 years. He retired at the end of 2018. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in the 1950s and early 1960s, at which time he developed a deep passion for mathematics and physics. With the help of very loving […]
Egon Schulte
Dr. Egon Schulte is a professor in mathematics at Northeastern. His main areas of expertise include Discrete and Combinatorial Geometry, Combinatorics, and Group Theory, and his recent teaching activities have focused on graduation education and the supervision of PhD students. Egon witnessed Bridge to Calculus grow from a small outreach program for Boston area high-school […]
Bindu Veetel

Hear from our team

Bridge to Calculus:
Christopher’s Story

Math Question Center:
Chiruza Muhimuzi, Mentee

Bridge to Calculus:
Brenda Cassellius

Interested in becoming a volunteer or mentor?

Meet our Alumni

Scholar Spotlight: Christoper Suplice

Northeastern and Bridge to Calculus alum Christopher Suplice has Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, a condition that has left him mostly blind. His experience has motivated him to use computer science to create technology for people with visual impairments, like himself.

Read His Story

Frinny Polanco Walters, MD

Frinny Polanco Walters, MD, is an attending physician in the division of adolescent and young adult medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, a fellow in the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in minority health policy at Harvard University, and an MPH candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Walters is an Afro-Latinx doctor who was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Jamaica Plain, a suburb just outside Boston. She attended college at Brown University and moved to Washington, D.C., thereafter to serve as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow, working alongside health policy experts to address issues affecting underserved communities. While in the D.C. area, Dr. Walters also worked at the National Institutes of Health researching the lack of involvement of minority populations in clinical trials. Next, she started her medical career at New York Medical College and returned to Boston for a pediatrics residency at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center and a fellowship in adolescent medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Gabrielle Rigaud, PE

Since Gabrielle Rigaud’s days in the Bridge to Calculus program back in 2000, she’s enjoyed a career in the field of civil engineering, specifically as a geotechnical engineer. After Ms. Rigaud immigrated from Haiti and struggled to learn English, Bridge to Calculus prepared her to take AP Calculus, pass the AP exam, and eventually attend college at Tufts, with the advantage of having AP course credit and a strong foundation in math. The knowledge and confidence Ms. Rigaud gained from the program made engineering an obvious choice despite the rigorous and challenging coursework. She went on to pursue a master’s degree, which has helped her support emergency disaster efforts in the U.S. and around the world, and built the base for a fulfilling career in an exciting STEM field. Two decades later, Ms. Rigaud is forever grateful to her high school teacher, Dr. Krishna Rajangam, for signing her up for the Bridge to Calculus program, and for her mentor and friend, Professor Robert Case, for feeding her curiosity and making calculus seem easy during her summer in the program.

Yuyu Chen

The John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science’s program and teachers prepared Yuyu Chen for AP calculus, opened life-changing doors for him, and equipped him with the resources to succeed as a mathematics major in college. The program also inspired him to pay it forward by becoming a teacher after graduation. Mr. Chen also returned to the Bridge to Calculus program to serve as a teacher and mentor at his former high school—an experience he called “amazing!

Daniela Alarcon-Diaz

As a Boston Public Schools alum and the salutatorian of her graduating class, Daniela Alarcon-Diaz was awarded Northeastern’s Boston Public High School Scholarship and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business. Ms. Alarcon Diaz is a proud Latina and Bridge to Calculus alum excited to have the opportunity to work in the Question Center and to provide mentorship to Boston Public School students through the Bridge to Calculus program. Ms. Alarcon-Diaz is also grateful to be part of the BtC Committee and advocate for the program and the needs of the students.

Tristan Campbell

Tristan Campbell is a BtC program 2008 alumnus. He describes the program as a true bridge, ‘paving the way for him to hit the ground running’ at Boston University, where he studied electrical engineering with a focus on computer engineering and science. Since that time, Tristan has been involved in multiple projects, including Android application development, embedded radar, attached storage file systems, and cloud computing.

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