Principal Michael Harano is often asked for the secret to his students’ success, especially as Washington Middle School’s “mathletes” claimed their sixth championship in a row this year, topping public and private schools.
“It’s not that we have a market on the smartest math kids,” said the genial educator, whose campus serves students in McCully and Moiliili, most of them low-income. “The kids we get are good students, but they are not necessarily exceptional in math.”
In the first 27 years of the MathCounts middle school competition in Hawaii, Punahou racked up 15 wins and ‘Iolani School scooped up eight. There were just four public-school victories between 1984 and 2010.
Having selective private schools dominate the daunting academic competition came as no big surprise. But when the kids at Washington Middle started their streak in 2011, it made a splash.
Their victories helped torpedo a myth that had held the kids back — the feeling that they didn’t stand a chance, Harano said. Math teacher Sung Park, who began coaching the math team in 2009, has instilled in students the belief they can succeed and a willingness to work for it.
“The question really is, How do you get middle-school kids to be able to solve problems at this level of rigor?” Harano said, adding that some questions would stump college students. “Because of the relationship that they develop with Mr. Park, they find an interest and passion to solve math at the highest level.”
”The reality is that every school could do this,” he added. “It’s not about if you’re smarter; it’s about how hard you work.”
Washington’s success has inspired others. This year public schools swept the top three spots at MathCounts, held March 12 at Kamehameha Schools. Iao School of Maui placed second, followed by Waiakea Intermediate of Hawaii island. ‘Iolani took fourth and Punahou came in fifth.
“I’m actually pretty proud, since we are a public school,” said eighth-grader Seobeen Chang, one of two girls on Washington’s team at the state contest. “It’s hard to go against the private schools.”
The Hawaii team headed to Washington, D.C., for the MathCounts National Competition May 7-10 is made up of three Washington Middle kids — Seobeen, Brandon Lai and Kyungbong Ko — and one from Maui’s Seabury Hall, Steven Doan. Washington students Haeri Kim, Darren Do and Jaewoo Lee also competed at the state championship.
MathCounts combines timed written tests and nail-biting countdown rounds in front of an audience, with two students going head to head to solve thorny problems in a matter of seconds, their fingers itching to slam their buzzer first.
Students flock to Park’s classroom after school to practice, happy to hang out with kindred spirits. Their teacher is always there for them.
Park, who came to Hawaii from Korea as a college student, sets high standards but has a soft heart. He takes the team out to dinner to celebrate their victories.
“Some people ask me, ‘Don’t you have a life?’” Park said. “I say, ‘This is my life. I feel like I’m accomplishing something. That’s what keeps me going.’”
The kids are there for one another, as well. The older kids mentor the younger ones. Team members, selected based on their performance, are expected to show up every day and may stay as long as they like.
“It’s very exciting and fun here because I have a lot of friends, so I’m very comfortable,” said Brandon, a 13-year-old who wears his hair spiky. “Mr. Park treats us like family. He cares for our education and our future. If we get into trouble, he scolds us.”
The math team’s bonds reach beyond the modest campus on South King Street. On Saturdays the mathletes get together at cafes to practice without their coach. Washington alumni who are now in high school are happy to pitch in as needed, on campus or off.
This year those older students widened the circle further, staging a workshop in January for several public middle-school math clubs to prepare for the Oahu Chapter contest.
“We tend to get a lot of kids that are quiet and shy,” said Christine Routon, assistant coach. “By the end of Washington Middle School, they have no problem helping other kids. It’s this really beautiful thing to see them grow up and succeed.”
Even when students head off to the mainland, they still stay in touch. Washington alumni at Yale and MIT checked in this spring to offer encouragement and find out how their old school fared at the state competition, which is sponsored by Hawaiian Electric Co. and run by the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers Educational Foundation.
Park, who is in his 12th year teaching at Washington, said students have learned that hard work can pay off.
“There are a lot of ingredients to it, but one big one is the relationship I built with my kids,” Park said. “The three kids going to the nationals from Washington, they are really average kids, not like mathematical geniuses, no. They know what it takes. They practice hard.”
Another ingredient powering the Washington mathletes fits into the palms of their hands. Every other Friday, volunteers turn up with freshly made Spam musubi.
“The math is too hard for us — we do the easy part,” said Bernice Katahara, one of the “musubi ladies.” “Mr. Park is devoted to his kids. He’s not just a math teacher. He teaches them about life.”
As the team waited to hear the final results at the state competition, some students had their heads bowed, eyes closed.
“They were super-duper nervous,” Park said. “They didn’t want to disappoint me.
“At the end they were, like, screaming,” he added with a grin. “It was fun for me to watch them.”
