A San Antonio educator, Dashiell "Dash" Young-Saver, has garnered national attention by hitting Forbes magazine's '30 Under 30' for turning the tables on math education. His nonprofit, Skew the Script, arms teachers with free lesson plans that make math add up to something meaningful for students. Teaching at IDEA South Flores, Young-Saver's approach initially gained traction in a classroom at Burbank High School, where he increased engagement and test scores, according to the Express-News.
The idea to fundamentally change how math was instructed to resonate more with youth, particularly underserved students, turned into a movement, with Skew the Script reaching upwards of 20,000 teachers and 400,000 students nationwide. According to Forbes, Young-Saver started to truly transform his curriculum by integrating subject matters that were both contemporary and compelling to his class, from political gerrymandering to sports statistics. This pivot notably skyrocketed the school's Advanced Placement Statistics exam pass rates.
Young-Saver's efforts didn't go unnoticed, as his nonprofit recently snagged a hefty $2.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "One day, I came in, after being sick of this, with no lesson prepared, and asked my students, ‘What is it that you all really want to learn about?’" he recalled in a statement obtained by the Express-News. Answering this question has led to a revolutionary new methodology for teaching statistics.
Teachers from even the most prestigious institutions have begun to adopt these avant-garde materials, as Young-Saver's offerings make math truly resonate with students. Kevin Bartkovich, a teacher at Exeter Academy, remarked in a statement sourced from Forbes, "It took me about 2 minutes on the website to realize that this was what I was looking for." The reception suggests that Skew the Script isn't just rewriting the book for struggling schools but also revitalizing curriculum in high-end educational contexts.
Young-Saver has also extended his reach beyond the classroom, contributing math lessons to the New York Times Learning Network. He told the Express-News that his goal was to "empower their voices using the language of math." With this, the San Antonio teacher takes strides in equipping a new generation with the tools to critically analyze data and engage with societal issues informed by numbers.
