Kyrene Altadeña Middle School’s Mathcounts team finished fifth place at the Papago Chapter Mathcounts competition on Saturday, Feb. 1, marking a strong debut for the school’s new math club.

Mathcounts, a national program designed to engage middle school students in mathematics, was introduced in select Kyrene School District middle schools this school year. The program provides students with opportunities to strengthen problem-solving skills, compete in math challenges, and have fun with math.

At Altadeña, 27 mathletes joined the Mathcounts club under the leadership of math teacher Megan Shafer, a former semiconductor process engineer. Students met after school 12 times between August and January to prepare for the school-wide Mathcounts competition. The top 14 finishers from that event earned the opportunity to compete at the chapter level against students from other schools in the region.

The Panther Mathletes demonstrated their talent at the Papago Chapter competition, earning multiple awards. Ethan Shell, Andrea Leong, David Langlois, and Sadie Minder secured fifth place medals in the team competition, while Ethan (12th place) and Andrea (18th place) placed in the top 20 individually.

"It was incredible to see our mathletes compete with such determination and excitement. They were definitely in their element," Shafer said. “I was especially proud of our team’s dedication and the strong representation of girls in STEM. With nine of our 14 competitors being girls, our team had the highest female participation in the Papago Chapter, which is an exciting step toward greater inclusivity in math and science."

Kyrene’s Mathcounts expansion was made possible with support from industry partners, including 3M that covered entrance fees for all participating Kyrene schools, and Honeywell, which contributed lunch, volunteers, and a guest speaker—Nayyar Rao, Chief of Connected Aircrafts.

With a young and promising team—only two members are eighth graders—Shafer is already looking ahead.

"We have a strong foundation, and I can’t wait to see what these students accomplish next year," she said.