Westborough Woman Coaches Top Area Math Students

Beth Blumberg knows math, and she knows the answer to this question: How many different "words" can you make rearranging the letters of Mississippi?*

Blumberg's early interest in math began on the campus of Stanford University, where she grew up. She told Westborough Patch, "I headed east for college, thinking that I'd be here for four years."  She met her New Jersey-bred husband, Alan Erhlich, in college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The rest, as they say, is history.

Blumberg and Erhlich, a physician, have four children who have all inherited their passion for math. Their oldest son Steven earned a degree in computer science from Harvey Mudd College, a prestigious school in California.  He is now a PhD candidate at Georgia Tech. Blumberg and Ehrlich have two other college-age children who are studying computer science: Joshua also at Harvey Mudd College and Gabrielle at Harvard University.  Rachel, a senior at (WHS), plans to follow in her siblings' footsteps. 

A few years ago, Blumberg earned a Masters of Art in Teaching (MAT) in mathematics from Simmons College. She is currently teaching math at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, a small private college in downtown Boston.

Blumberg sat down with Westborough Patch and told us about her favorite math activity, which is coaching a regional math team that competes in the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) and other competitions.

Tell us about the team.

We’re the Western Mass ARML Team with high school students from all over Worcester County and Western Massachusetts. This year we have approximately 40 students who come from the in Marlborough, Mass Academy at WPI, in Shrewsbury, St. Peter Marian in Worcester, and following public high schools: , Tantasqua, The Bromfield School, Sutton, Wachusett, and .

At what age do students generally join the team?

Most students join as they find out about the math team. Generally it's in 9th or 10th grade, but some start in 8^th if they’re okay with the fact that this is a difficult competition.  We welcome interested math students.

What types of math problems are covered in the competition?

Hard ones.

When and where is the ARML competition?

It’s held annually the first Saturday after Memorial Day, which is June 4 this year. Aproximately 2,000 students compete simultaneously at four sites across the country: Penn State, the University of Iowa, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and University of Georgia. We like to bring 30 and 45 students to Penn State. That’s two-to-three teams, with 15 students each. The weekend also involves team building at Hershey Park.

How does the competition work?

There are short answers, power rounds, and relays, which are all about teamwork. In the individual competition, there are five rounds in which each student has 10 minutes to answer two fairly difficult questions. Students who do well in the individual competition continue in a tiebreaker round to determine the top 10 students in the country.

What’s the best the team has scored?

Our students go on to do amazing things. It would be easy to tell you about many individuals. In 2006, the Western Mass ARML team came in second in the B division.  As a result, we have been competing in the A division ever since. Two years ago, Ofir Nachum, then a junior at Algonquin, placed 11th in the country. Now he’s at MIT.

How does the team prepare for competition?

Students get together once a month, typically on a Saturday from 9am to 12:30pm at .  They practice working together, and teaching each other math.  Many also study on their own, since this is often not the math of their high school classrooms.  

Does the team compete in other competitions?

Yes, we compete in the ARML Local, ARML Power Round, and New York State Mathematics League which are held at each team's location. Each year, the team also attends two Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournaments.

Tell us about coaching.

We’re all volunteers and most of us are parents of team members. I’m the Head Coach, and I'm joined by Lauren Van Wart (from Lowell), Alan Ehrlich, Maria Homberg, Barry Saver, and Matt Vea. Lauren and I are licensed math teachers. Rose Kwok provides an invaluable service to the team as snack mom. For the actual meet, we also have former team members who are now college students come as chaperones.

Are you connected with a particular high school?

has been a great supporter of the team. We’re a regional team, so we are not "school sanctioned.” 

What are your expenses?

The bus and housing at Penn State are our biggest expense, but we also have to pay competition entry fees.  Most of the funds are covered by parents and private schools. Donations are welcome. This will make a difference in a child's life. For more information, plesae contact me by e-mail at Bethblumberg@hotmail.com.

*answer = 34,650  (A "word" is something that uses the letters, but doesn't have to "make sense" in English. This is a permutation problem.)