Georgia Institute of Technology College of Sciences

This fall, the twentieth cohort of students will begin the Distance Math program offered through the School of Mathematics in the College of Sciences. The program allows eligible high school students, who have already completed AP Calculus BC, to virtually take up to four advanced math courses at Georgia Tech. The 20th anniversary of the program also showcases another reason to celebrate: the exponential growth of the program since its launch. There are more than 1,100 students this fall compared to the 32 students in the original cohort two decades ago. 

The beginning

The Distance Math program was created long before distance learning became a global concept. Mathematics Professor Emeritus Tom Morley designed the original concept when Georgia Tech was approached by administrators in five Fulton County schools to help high school students who had exhausted all high school math classes. He created a program that broadcast his math courses to classrooms of high school students as he simultaneously taught Georgia Tech students on campus. The design was similar to a television newscast, but leveraging two-way video so Morley could see the highschoolers when needed. Much like today’s modern conference calls, students could ask questions via a microphone to participate in real-time discussions — a pioneering concept 20 years ago. Georgia Tech’s professional education staff couriered any written assignments or homework between the students and Morley.

“I’m really proud of what I started. For many years, it was the most successful recruiting outreach that Tech had with local Georgia schools,” Morley says. 

Originally called Distance Calculus, the program changed its name to Distance Math in 2016. 

Director of Non-Degree Programs Laura Simmons has been working in the Distance Math program for nine years. She says the program was cutting edge when it began, and the evolution of technology only further advanced the program. “Back in 2005, it was unusual that we were beaming Georgia Tech classrooms out to high schools,” she explained. “They used very large, very bulky equipment which was considered elite at the time. The pandemic in 2020 made it necessary to move to a more asynchronous program, but we were already poised to do that.” 

Currently, students are taught via recorded videos, allowing students more flexibility, and live “studio sessions” give students the opportunity to ask teaching assistants questions. However, the program maintains the tradition of students taking exams with pencil and paper while being proctored at the high school.

The best and brightest

Math Professor Michael Lacy, who currently teaches in the Distance Math program, says the students in the program are “typically, the best students in the state.” He explained the high school students who enroll not only seek out but excel in all advanced courses, including every math course his or her school offers.

“These are very strong students, highly engaged in the world around them,” he adds. “I had a student in F1 racing competitions; I had a National Student Poet in one of my classes. They come with interesting backgrounds and interests plus their own histories. It is a privilege to enrich their secondary education this way.”

Georgia Tech’s Director of Online Learning Gregory Mayer agrees. “These students are extremely bright with very, very bright futures so this feels like a dream to me, to get to teach in this program.” 

Georgia Tech student Adi Krish was in the Distance Math program his junior and senior years of high school, and is now a second year computer science major who works as a research assistant in both the Techtonics lab and the Teachable A.I. Lab. “Distance Math was a great experience that put me in a good position to start college,” he says. “Plus, I thought it was a good way to bond with a bunch of fellow nerds over math. We had multiple study groups including groups across different schools.”  

From then to now

From a start of only serving five Fulton County schools, the program now serves nearly 100 high schools across the state. Georgia Tech is the only USG institution to offer math at this level in a dual enrollment program. The tremendous success of Distance Math is credited to those who continue to put in long hours to make it work. 

“I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of this program,” Mayer says. “I enjoy answering questions from these students about what's next, how to choose college courses, and what I recommend for extracurriculars. I think it’s wonderful to get to help navigate the landscape of what college is all about.” 

The 20th anniversary of the program, coincidentally, marks the intersection of distance learning and Distance Math. “This class entering into the fall 2024 cohort started high school online,” Simmons says. “They were the students for whom there were no rules. There were barely any deadlines and not many expectations of whatever they were doing.” 

However, she added, “I have no doubt the students in this year’s Distance Math program will continue to leave us in awe.”