My name is Sarah, and I have dedicated my career to making math more accessible for children in high-need communities in the Bronx and Manhattan. I have seen firsthand how language barriers can make learning even more difficult for students who are still learning English. That is why we're creating more than 500 math videos in Spanish to support students from grades 3 through Algebra I.

This work is deeply personal to me. I am a first-generation Puerto Rican from the Bronx, and I grew up speaking and thinking in English. My parents assumed I would naturally learn Spanish because it was spoken all around me in my neighborhood and by many members of my extended family, but I never became fully fluent. Because of that, there were family members, including my great-grandmother, with whom I could only partially communicate.

Later, as an educator working in New York City schools, I experienced that same kind of language disconnect from the other side. I have worked with students who were learning English while I was trying to support them with my limited Spanish. I know how hard it is to teach a child when you do not fully share a language. Even when teachers care deeply and do their very best, a language barrier can keep students from accessing instruction in the way they deserve.

My father’s story has stayed with me throughout this work. When he came to New York from Puerto Rico as a kid, he did not speak English and was placed in classrooms where all instruction was in English. He struggled in school, especially in math, and often felt frustrated, confused, and left behind. He told me how much he hated not knowing what to do in math and how that frustration sometimes got him into trouble. He was proud that math came more easily to me, but he wished he had been given the same chance to succeed. His story makes me wonder how many children today are still facing that same challenge. Why should math opportunity skip a generation because of a language barrier?

I have deep empathy for students like my father and for the teachers trying to support them. Teaching math to multilingual learners is challenging, especially when the teacher is not fluent in the student’s home language. Math vocabulary is highly specific, and translating a worksheet is not enough. A student still needs clear instruction that helps them actually understand the math. The most powerful learning happens when children can access ideas in their thinking language.

That is why I want to create Math Mini-Lessons in Spanish. Students in New York City and around the world already use my English math videos on YouTube, but those lessons do not fully serve children who do not yet speak English. I want to remove that barrier and make high-quality math instruction available in Spanish so students can learn in the language that makes the most sense to them. Visiting classrooms, I have seen newcomer students sit in math classrooms unable to access the lesson because their teacher does not speak Spanish. Too often, they are left watching unrelated videos instead of receiving meaningful instruction. These Spanish Math Mini-Lessons videos and materials can change that.

Many of the students using Math Mini-Lessons are multilingual learners, and I know how powerful it would be for them to learn math in Spanish. My goal is to recreate these instructional videos in Spanish in partnership with a brilliant bilingual math teacher. Together, we will translate, record, and produce more than 500 videos for grades 3 through Algebra I, and create an additional 200 videos for Geometry and Algebra II over the next 12 months.

The funds raised will support translation, scripting, video production, filming, editing, and quality assurance for these Spanish-language math resources. Every video will be published on YouTube for free, so any child, family, or teacher who needs them can access them.

I am asking for your support. Please donate if you can, and if you are not able to give, sharing this fundraiser would mean so much. Every contribution helps bring us closer to a world where all children can learn math in the language they understand best.