Windsor High School Alumnus Develops Math Program and Teaches Students to "Make Music Count"

Windsor High School Class of 2005 alumnus Marcus Blackwell, Jr. is channeling his former intimidation of mathematics to help students get excited about learning and succeed in the classroom.

Blackwell developed Make Music Count LLC, an award-winning mathematics program taught by learning music on the piano. Each musical note that is played is derived by solving an algebraic equation. The program is for students in Grades 3 - 9 and covers understanding fractions, algebra, and graphing. This method offers students the opportunity to see how math is applicable to everyday life and other areas of study. The students view learning as fun while strengthening their understanding of mathematics.

As someone who struggled in algebra, Blackwell says a course like this would have helped him tremendously as a student growing up in Windsor. He played the piano in the Windsor High Jazz Band and took lessons at the Artist Collective in Hartford. Blackwell says his confidence in math and the concept for this program was developed while studying at Morehouse College in Atlanta GA.

This class is currently offered at Sage Park Middle School in Windsor, CT as an after-school enrichment program. Students are encouraged to join at any time. The company, based in Atlanta, GA, currently operates in six states, including Georgia, Connecticut, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and has partnered with over 50 schools to date. Make Music Count books and t-shirts are also available online.

For more information please visit www.makemusiccount.com.

About Windsor Public Schools:
Windsor Public Schools serves nearly 4,000 students in the community of Windsor, Connecticut, a town located in north central Connecticut between Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts. Windsor Public Schools is comprised of six schools: Oliver Ellsworth School, Poquonock School, Clover Street School, John F. Kennedy School, Sage Park Middle School, and Windsor High School. The mission of Windsor Public Schools is to develop the genius in every child and to create life-long learners. For more information about the Windsor Board of Education and any of its schools, please visit www.windsorct.org.