Rising Stars is an elite mentoring program where the most talented students in 4th – 7th grade are matched with some of the most accomplished high schoolers. The focus of the program is on solving difficult problems and teaching exceptional young students the secrets of how the best in the business go about finding the right paths to solutions.
Our mentors are exceptional young mathematicians, with a history of great success in middle and high school math contests. Most are National MathCounts and USA(J)MO qualifiers. Beyond pure math training, mentors share their wisdom about their ways of studying, preparing for math contests, taking tests, coping with stress, dealing with failures, enjoying successes, and many other valuable life lessons.
Students work with their mentors in a 2-to-1 ratio. We rotate the groups so that students get to work with all mentors and are exposed to various ways of thinking. To make the sessions fun and exciting we incorporate various formats – students work individually or in groups, sometimes compete against each other and sometimes compete against the mentors. Students also participate in the Purple Comet Middle School team contest in April.
To be invited to the Rising Stars program, students must participate in the tryouts and also show a history of exceptional success in advanced math contests. For example, all Rising Stars invited to the program last year made AMC-8 Achievement Roll and most of them made AMC-8 Honor Roll in 6th grade or earlier. Upon passing the tryouts, students will be invited to our short Rising Stars Summer Camp, which includes two or three 60-minute sessions with our mentors and teachers.
