'Do the Math' set to begin 17th season on Sept. 11

The Kern County Superintendent of School's award-winning "Do the Math" live TV broadcast and free tutoring program is set to return for its 17th season on Sept. 11. For the past 16 years, the live interactive program has helped students strengthen their math awareness as credentialed teachers help them work out math problems on live television.

Free, phone-in tutoring is available to students from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays by calling (661) 636-4357 or toll free at (866) 636-6284. From 4 to 5 p.m., "Do the Math" host and executive producer Michael Cushine and several math tutors take problems from callers and work them out live on air. Special guests and contests supplement the math instruction.

Cushine said "Do the Math" has realigned its focus over the past few years because of a renewed emphasis on Career Technical Education (CTE).

"It isn't just about crunching numbers any longer. It's about problem solving," he said. "The goal is to show math at work. How it is used in the real world, in real careers, especially in STEM-related fields."

The program's segment called, "Math in the Real World" airs every Wednesday and features live remotes at local businesses, organizations and other community locations where industry professionals demonstrated practical applications of math concepts in their everyday jobs.

In June, "Do the Math" and its "Math in the Real World" segment was honored with a Beautiful Bakersfield Award in the public/private partnership category.

"Do the Math" is part of 60-plus hours of weekly K-12 educational programing aligned to state standards that is available through KCSOS's Kern Education Television Network (KETN). "Do the Math" can be seen in Bakersfield on Spectrum Cable Ch. 15, in California City, Boron and Mojave on Ch. 19, and in Rosamond on Ch. 180.

For more information, visit http://www.dothemathonline.net. You can also follow "Do the Math" on social media: Facebook: @dothemathbakersfield and Twitter: @dothemathbako.