MATH PROJECT

CJB Secondary School is a public high school located in Bosmont, a Joburg suburb which was the product of forced removals. The school has had a proud history of producing students of the highest calibre and was ranked as one of the top academic schools in the country, acting as a feeder school to Wits and UJ universities. During its 50 year history, changes in the political landscape did not prepare us to deal adequately with the new education requirements and the reality is reflected in the desparate matric results in the marginalized communities. This raised concern amongst graduates of CJB and the community. A call was made not only by the community but by Government to the private sector to assist with the improvement of grade 12 results, with special focus towards mathematics.

The CJB Alumni together with the Reggie Feldman Education Trust embarked on a turnaround strategy to improve the academic results at CJB and to, once again provide learners with the opportunity to attend tertiary institutions. The initiatives started 3 years ago with the Government body, the educators and learners. Expert opinion and research directed us to start with 420 grade 8 and 9 learners and deal with the foundational mathematical problems in these grades. Even though the initial focus is grade 8, the project aims to continue working with them through to grade 12. 

The School recently implemented a new online Mathematics program (www.10ticks.co.za) which is designed to assist and facilitate the mathematical progression and skills. It is used to establish a firm foundation for grade 8 and 9 learners so that core Maths is a favoured choice amongst learners in grade 10. However, we are experiencing difficulties with the School infrastructure. Currently, the 24 computers on site have a very slow internet connection with zero access due to the unreliable internet source with the School cannot afford to change. At present, 70 learners are on the program which were paid for by their parents, with only a selective amount who has access to the internet at home.

We have secured mathematic textbooks for grade 8 through the Trust and sourced the 10 Ticks online program that will enhance and manage classroom-based learning. CJB Alumni also acquired an NPO number 103-391 NPO. In order to facilitate and enable this internet-based program, we require about 20 laptops. We wish to ask various donors to purchase laptop/s to the value of R3500.00 each or organisations to donate computers.

To this end, we call upon you or your organisation to support this endeavour. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.