Counted Out

Teach For America, in partnership with Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance’s STEMtember awareness campaign, invites you to a special screening of "Counted Out," a powerful documentary that explores why math education matters, not just for students, but for our entire society. Tickets on sale now for this one-day-only screening, $11 Circle members and $13 non-members.

According to The Nation’s Report Card, in 2024 only 31% of 4th graders and 17% of 8th graders in Oklahoma were performing at or above grade level in math. These numbers reflect a broader challenge: students who struggle with math often face limited opportunities later in life. Even in today’s world of calculators and artificial intelligence, student math skills and positive community mindsets toward math remain essential. "Counted Out" makes the case that math education is deeply connected to economic opportunity, everyday problem-solving, and preparing students to be our leaders of the future. After the film, stay for a brief conversation in partnership with TRSA’s Me and My Math Mentor Program to learn how you can champion and support math education in our community.

Since 2009, Teach For America Greater Tulsa has recruited, developed, and supported an action-oriented network of leaders committed to expanding opportunity for our students and community at-large. Our network of more than 420 corps members, alumni, and Ignite fellows work relentlessly towards our vision that one day all children will have access to an excellent education. Working alongside schools, community leaders, and local organizations, our goal is that by 2030, twice as many children in the communities where we work will reach key educational milestones, indicating they are on a path to economic mobility and co-creating a future filled with possibility.  For more information, visit TeachForAmerica.org and follow on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. 

About the film: 1h31min - Doc - English

“Counted Out” investigates the biggest crises of our time through an unexpected lens: math. In our current information economy, math is everywhere. The people we date, the news we see, the influence of our votes, the candidates who win elections, the education we have access to, the jobs we get—all of it is underwritten by an invisible layer of math that few of us understand, or even notice. But whether we know it or not, our numeric literacy—whether we can speak the language of math—is a critical determinant of social and economic power. Through a mosaic of personal stories, expert interviews, and scenes of math transformation in action, Counted Out shows what’s at risk if we keep the status quo. Do we want an America in which most of us don’t consider ourselves “math people”? Where math proficiency goes down as students grow up? Or do we want a country where everyone can understand the math that undergirds our society—and can help shape it?