Background
Kay Toliver was born and raised in East Harlem and the South Bronx. A product of the New York City public school system, she graduated from Harriet Beecher Stowe Junior High, Walton High School and Hunter College (AB 1967, MA 1971) with graduate work at the City College of New York in mathematics.
For more than 30 years, Kay Toliver taught mathematics and communication arts at P.S. 72/East Harlem Tech in Community School District 4. Prior to instructing seventh and eight grade students, she taught grades one through six for 15 years.
"Becoming a teacher was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. My parents always stressed that education was the key to a better life. By becoming a teacher, I hoped to inspire African-American and Hispanic youths to realize their own dreams. I wanted to give something back to the communities I grew up in."
At East Harlem Tech, with the support of her principal, she established the "Challenger" program. The program, for grades 4-8, presents the basics of geometry and algebra in an integrated curriculum. This is a program for "gifted" students, but following her belief that all children can learn, she accepted students from all ability levels.
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