The Institute of Merit is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the mathematics education for students from New York City and Long Island. We feel that this can be accomplished in two distinct ways. One approach is to work directly with students and the second is to better prepare their teachers. Although the Institute is only in its infancy, it supports two programs that have been in existence for more than twenty years.
The Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students was founded by Dr. Jong Pil Lee in 1992 in response to the report “National Excellence: The Case for Developing America’s Talents”. The report described the crisis of gifted students being underserved in American education, in particular, the lack of participation of women and minorities in mathematics and science programs.
The Research program allows graduates of the Creative Problem Solving class to experience the art of mathematical research and applied technology. Students are taught how to write mathematical papers and to deliver presentations of their original work.
Additional programs under the direct supervision of Merit include The Nassau Mathematics Tournament, Limaçon Conference, and the Math Tourney: Grades 4-6.