What is Reach the Source?

Reach the Source (RTS) is a resource of materials related to New York State Common Core high school mathematics (Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II). The materials here are designed to clarify New York State's supplementary material for Common Core high school math standards, which can be found on several documents on the New York State Education Department's EngageNY web site.

Who wrote the material on Reach the Source?

All material on RTS was created or modified by Bobson Wong based on his classroom experience. Bobson has taught math at public schools in Queens County (New York City) since 2005. He is a three-time recipient of the Math for America Master Teacher Fellowship and a recipient of the New York State Master Teacher Fellowship. He is the co-author of The Math Teacher's Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students (Jossey-Bass, 2020). As an Educational Specialist for New York State, Bobson writes and edits questions for the state's high school math Regents exams. Bobson has taught courses at all levels of high school math from Algebra 1 to Pre-Calculus, including Math Team, Math Research, and AP Statistics. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Museum of Mathematics. Bobson has written and spoken extensively on mathematics education. He was a panelist for the 2012 PBS television program American Graduate: A Conversation with Teachers, hosted by Ray Suarez. In 2013, he co-authored an article about teaching geometry for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Mathematics Teacher journal. His op-ed articles have appeared in the Queens Tribune, which also featured a profile of him in 2014, the Washington Post, and Math for America's Teacher Voices blog.

Much of the material on Reach the Source is taken from freely available material from the New York State Education Department (NYSED), which is published on EngageNY.

Why is Reach the Source necessary?

The need for this web site developed from Bobson's work with NYSED to improve the quality of high school mathematics standards and assessment in the state. In 2015, he served on the Committee for Regents Exam in Geometry (Common Core) Standard Setting. He is currently a member of the state’s Common Core Mathematics Standards Review Committee, which reviewed and revised the Common Core standards for the state. He is also a member of the United Federation of Teachers's Common Core Standards Task Force. While serving on these committees, he realized that material related to the Common Core needed to be simplified to make the standards more easily accessible to everyone.

How can I use the material on Reach the Source?

All material on this web site may be freely shared, subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Reach the Source believes that educators deserve clear, high-quality material that supports learning for all students.

Follow Bobson Wong: http://bobsonwong.com or on Twitter at @bobsonwong.