Programs and Activities

of Mathematical Staircase, Inc.


Our first educational program is MathILy, an intensive summer program for secondary students. The name is short for "serious Mathematics Infused with Levity," which encapsulates the tone of the program. The focus is on pure but applicable mathematics, and the core of the curriculum is discrete mathematics. The program pedagogy is inquiry-based learning, sometimes also described as discovery-based learning. dr. sarah-marie belcastro is the director.

Here is the MathILy 2013 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2014 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2015 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2016 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2017 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2018 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2019 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2020 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2021 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2022 annual report.

Here is the MathILy 2023 annual report.


Our second educational program is MathILy-Er, a sister program to MathILy. The name is short for "serious Mathematics Infused with Levity, Earlier" and the program is intended for students who are slightly earlier---in chronology or mathematical development---than MathILy students. Its purpose is to train students to be ready for MathILy (or other national/selective mathematics summer programs) in future years. Dr. Corrine Yap is the current director.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2015 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2016 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2017 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2018 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2019 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2020 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2021 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2022 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-Er 2023 annual report.


Our third educational program is MathILy-EST, an NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates under NSF grant DMS-1851842. The name is short for "serious Mathematics Infused with Levity, Early Scholarly Training" and it provides early research opportunities each year for six college students who are deeply but informally prepared for mathematics research. The focus of the program is on first-year students, with second-year and entering college students also considered for participation. The MathILy-EST REU is co-sited with MathILy---participants work in spaces near the MathILy classrooms, and live in the same dormitory as MathILy instructors and high-school students. dr. sarah-marie belcastro is the Principal Investigator; Dr. Thomas C. Hull was the 2019 research supervisor; Dr. Hannah Alpert was the 2020 research supervisor; Dr. Max Engelstein was the 2021 research supervisor; Dr. Nate Harman was the 2022 research director; Dr. Brian Freidin was the 2023 research director; Dr. Thomas C. Hull will be the 2024 research supervisor.

Here is the MathILy-EST 2019 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-EST 2020 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-EST 2021 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-EST 2022 annual report.

Here is the MathILy-EST 2023 annual report.


As an organization, we are active in overseeing our programs and in attempting to be a model nonprofit organization.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2013 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2014 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2015 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2016 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2017 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2018 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2019 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2020 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2021 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2022 annual report.

Here is the Mathematical Staircase, Inc. 2023 annual report.