Whitman Announces Expansion of L.A. Math Initiative

Philanthropist Meg Whitman joined Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and representatives from the MIND Research Institute at the 99th Street Elementary School Wednesday morning to announce the expansion of the Los Angeles Math Initiative.

Whitman, a formal gubernatorial candidate in California, announced that her charitable foundation plans to contribute $500,000 towards the initiative, which is specifically designed to improve math achievement in elementary and middle schools throughout the Los Angeles region.

"We thought it was incredibly well thought out and it had proven results so we decided to invest half a million dollars," Whitman said.

Matthew Peterson, founder of the initiative, said a summer research program inspired him to start a math program for young students that would help to bridge language barriers.

"I was thinking, 'maybe there's a way to teach math without language" and it got great results and really developed into a way of getting kids into math without the language barrier," Peterson said.

Whitman praised the program as the answer to her foundation's search for "technology that could complement teachers in the classroom."