Bringing Math Circles into New Mexico Classrooms: An Interview with James Taylor

Authors

Amanda SerenevyFollow

Biographical Sketch

Interviewer: Amanda Serenevy was recruited by Bob and Ellen Kaplan to teach Math Circles in Boston starting in 2005. In the summer of 2006, she returned to South Bend, Indiana and co-founded Riverbend Community Math Center with her husband Dean Serenevy. Since that time, the Riverbend Community Math Center has organized Math Circles, provided professional development to teachers and programs in schools, and supported math outreach efforts by other organizations. In 2008, Bob and Ellen Kaplan asked her to organize the Math Circle Institute at Notre Dame, which continued each summer through 2016. \\ Interviewee: James Taylor has been working to bring beautiful mathematics to students and teachers in New Mexico and beyond for many years. It is difficult to enumerate the many math outreach programs and partnerships that he has initiated over the years. James has worked most closely with the Santa Fe Public Schools, coaching teachers, leading professional development sessions, mentoring teachers leading Math Circles after school, and directly leading Math Circle sessions with students during the school day. He has facilitated annual student participation in MOEMs competitions and has organized many Math Wrangles, including three years of district-wide Wrangles. In May of 2025, he led three full days of Wrangles in which every elementary, middle, and K--8 school participated in cross-school teams. James has also led numerous professional development sessions for teachers from northern New Mexico schools outside Santa Fe. He is a co-director of the Alliance for Indigenous Math Circles (AIMC), and serves as an instructor during summer programs for that organization. He is also active in the wider Math Circle community, participating in many workshops organized by the Alliance for Indigenous Math Circles, giving talks and writing articles about his programs during annual meetings, and serving as an organizer and mentor to mathematicians and teachers attending the recently revived Math Circle Institute at Notre Dame.

Abstract

In this interview, conducted on December 14th, 2022, James described his math outreach journey and the many members of the Math Circle community who helped him along the way.

Recommended Citation

Serenevy, Amanda (2025) "Bringing Math Circles into New Mexico Classrooms: An Interview with James Taylor," Journal of Math Circles: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 9.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/mathcirclesjournal/vol4/iss2/9