Project Inspire: Increasing STEM Braille Potential

We received a picture of a Senior Mathlete wearing his Project INSPIRE mathlete t-shirt and his third place medal. The email from the family said, "Thank you so much for running this program!!" The photo shows this proud mathlete.

One of our Junior Mathletes received his t-shirt and certificate in the mail. Mom shared, "Today was a happy mail day 😊 thanks again!" PD: A mathlete wearing a Project INSPIRE mathlete t-shirt holds up his certificate.

We are excited to show you our new logo! PD: Project INSPIRE NextGen is written in print with Project INSPIRE in simbraille below the print. On the left a green owl reading a book that has math symbols on it is shown.

The Project INSPIRE team received an email from one of our mathlete’s parents. In part the email reads, “Thank you so much for an awesome program and for the opportunity for students to participate for a third year! Our child uses Nemeth code every day for schoolwork and loves both the code and the access it provides to math…. We see tremendous independent growth in our child’s planning, organization, study habits, and technology skills as they prepare for the Mathlete competition. Because it has become an annual opportunity, they also think long-term about Nemeth and math learning and how those skills may be applied in the future (potentially being the symbol that makes or breaks a round!). It’s obvious how much planning, care, and thought your team puts into creating this opportunity for students both as individuals and as a community. And on top of that, you pull it off beautifully in a virtual setting!" PD: Project INSPIRE Mathlete logo

This June the AT&AEM Center in Ohio will once again be offering free braille classes for paraprofessionals, intervention specialists, family members, or TVIs looking for a way to brush up on their skills. Classes are online in real time, offering personal support. A shout out to Project INSPIRE folks, whose materials are used as part of the Beginning Nemeth class work. Here is a link for more information:

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What an exciting day for Project INSPIRE's mathletes! They had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Hoby Wedler, a blind chemist, who shared his personal journey with the mathletes and their families. He encouraged the mathletes to advocate for themselves, to work hard, and to recognize they can succeed in science and math learning. Our mathletes asked Dr. Hoby some excellent questions about accommodations he used when he took high school and college science classes, his work in the food and beverage industry, and his advice to them. Mrs. Susan then presented the awards to the Senior mathletes and Mrs. Sara presented the awards to the Junior mathletes.

Here are some numbers we find impressive. We had 22 mathletes:

- 12 of our 22 mathletes competed in 2025.
- Our mathletes represented 13 US states and 2 Canadian provinces.
- In both the Junior and Senior mathlete groups we had a tie for 2nd place.
- 4 mathletes had a perfect score on the Sprint round.
- 5 mathletes only missed one answer on the Sprint round.
- 7 mathletes missed one answer on the You Solve It round.
- 3 mathletes missed one answer on the You Write It round
- 1 mathlete had a perfect score on the You Write It round.
- 7 mathletes had a perfect score on the Relay round.

Congratulations to all our mathletes! We are so pleased that with generous funding from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, we'll be able to offer our 2027 Mathlete Competition!

PD: Photo of five 2025 mathletes wearing their mathlete t-shirts and holding their certificates and medals. The word Congratulations is written underneath them.

We are absolutely delighted to share that the Lavelle Fund for the Blind has awarded funding to the Project INSPIRE through the University of South Carolina Upstate Foundation. Our new project is titled Project INSPIRE NextGen. Look for our new logo coming soon!

We are pleased that Perkins School for the Blind’s Paths to Literacy team will continue to host our Project INSPIRE website.

Over the next 18 months Project INSPIRE NextGen’s team will do the following:
• Revise and expand Project INSPIRE’S 7 previously developed PD courses with the new addition of activities and assignments using the NERCVE Brailler 2.0.
• Offer the revised courses in spring 2027 and fall 2027, including holding office hours and webinars.
• Develop and virtually offer Graphing in a Box for Middle School Students (grades 5-8) in fall 2026 and fall 2027.
• Develop and virtually offer our fourth annual Mathlete Competition in spring 2027.

As part of expanding our courses, we are looking for pictures, videos, and student materials that show “real world” examples of what K-12 students are using and learning in STEM classes. Also, we are interested in interviewing students in grades 4-12, TSVIs, paraprofessionals, braille transcribers, and families. If you are willing to give us a bit of your time or share pictures, videos, or student materials with us, please email Penny Rosenblum at [email protected]. She is happy to set up a time for the video interview if you are willing. Video interviews and photos will be embedded into the courses.

Please reach out to any of us on the Project INSPIRE NextGen team at any time. Your input guides our work!

PD: The words Celebrate Our Funding are written in a fun letters and are shown with the Project INSPIRE logo, a megaphone, and a photo of Penny Rosenblum, Sara Larkin, Tina Herzberg, and Susan Osterhaus on a Zoom screen. Below is written, thank you to Lavelle Fund for the Blind for funding Project INSPIRE Next Gen!

It makes our team proud that 7 youth who have participated in our student programs are 2026 Braille Challenge finalists! Congratulations to them and all the finalists.

Image Description: A green background with the words “Time to Celebrate” in a fun multi-colored font is written. Text reads: Project INSPIRE Celebrates Our Students who are Braille Challenge Finalists, Sophomore:, Khanh T (IA), Luke F (NC), Junior Varsity:, Janna C (Canada), Leo D (TX), Salome C (MO), Varsity: Christopher M (GA), Keaton H (Canada).

AiiCE invites you to join an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026, from 10am PST (1pm EST) to 11pm PT (2pm EST).

Speakers will discuss their efforts in making mathematics and STEM education more accessible for students with disabilities. The session will highlight challenges, innovations, and practical considerations for creating STEM learning materials that are not only compliant but also usable and inclusive.
• Ritesh Kanchi, Harvard University
• Matthew Wang, University of Washington
• Miya Natsuhara, University of Washington

Accessibility: CART will be provided. For additional accommodations, please contact Kayla Brown at [email protected].

We hope you can join us!

Sponsored by the Alliance for Interdisciplinary Innovations in Computing Education (AiiCE), National Science Foundation grant -2118453. The DO-IT Center at the University of Washington is an Alliance member. Any questions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the presenter(s), author(s), and/or participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal government.

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Webinar: New Ideas in Accessible Math/STEM. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. AiiCE invites you to join an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026, from 10am PT (1pm EST) to 11pm PT (2pm EST). Speakers will discuss their efforts in making mathematics and STEM education more accessible for students with disabilities. The session will highlight challenges, innovations, an...