Boston Public Schools Student Wins State Championship In Wicked Math Year 1

O'Donnell Elementary School Grade 4 student Haytam El Ayoubi has qualified for the Math League National Championship, showing the impact of the Wicked Math Initiative.

Boston Public Schools Student Wins State Championship In Wicked Math Year 1

Boston Public Schools (BPS) celebrates our latest champion math wiz. O'Donnell Elementary School Grade 4 student Haytam El Ayoubi won the Massachusetts Math League State Championship last month after earning the highest score in the competition among Grade 4 students. He will compete in the Math League National Championship on June 13, 2026, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He represents Boston among the nation's top young mathematicians, with support from the City of Boston's Wicked Math initiative.

Mayor Michelle Wu visited the O'Donnell Elementary Math Club on June 10, 2026 to celebrate Haytam's accomplishment and recognize the successful first year of Wicked Math. Wu's visit was both a sendoff for Haytam and a reminder of the opportunities high-quality math enrichment can make available to students.

Throughout the school year, Haytam attended Math Club twice each week before school, demonstrating exceptional dedication, perseverance, and a genuine love of mathematics. He also represented O'Donnell monthly in Math League competitions, consistently challenging himself through advanced problem-solving and mathematical reasoning.

Haytam's success reflects the broader impact of Wicked Math, the City of Boston's initiative to expand access to advanced math programming across BPS. Launched in the 2025-26 school year through a partnership among EdVestors, The Calculus Project, the Young People's Project (YPP), and the BPS STEM Department, Wicked Math is helping build a stronger citywide math culture and ensuring students who love math have opportunities to deepen their learning inside and outside the classroom.

In its first year, Wicked Math established math clubs at 11 BPS schools, engaged hundreds of students in enrichment opportunities, hired 19 student math mentors through YPP, recruited students for The Calculus Project's summer program at MIT, and provided 11 professional development sessions for 161 BPS math educators.

The O'Donnell Elementary Math Club, led by Taylor O'Brien and Zhi Wang, has been one of the initiative's standout programs. The school's overall math performance has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, improving by 10 percentage points over the past two years.

As we celebrate Haytam's remarkable accomplishment, we also encourage students, families, and educators across Boston to get involved in the next chapter of Wicked Math. Opportunities include summer math programming, school-based math clubs, mentoring, competitions, and advanced learning pathways launching for the 2026-27 school year.

Haytam's achievement demonstrates what is possible when students are given opportunities to explore their passion for mathematics. As he prepares to compete against the country's best young problem-solvers, the entire BPS community is cheering him on and looking forward to welcoming him home after representing Boston with pride.

Farm to School at BPS Eats

Connecting Students to Fresh, Local, and Sustainable Food

At BPS Eats, our Farm to School program connects students and our community to locally-grown, wholesome foods produced with love and integrity.

We believe that good food begins with respect for farm workers and producers, animals, the environment, and our own staff. Through strong partnerships, values-based purchasing, and engaging education, we’re contributing to creating a more just, sustainable, and nourishing food system that benefits our regional producers, our local community, and Boston’s students.

What is Farm to School?

Farm to School brings local food, agriculture, and nutrition education into schools linking the classroom, cafeteria, and community.

At BPS, our Farm to School initiatives empower students to make informed food choices by providing equitable access to good food that reflects their cultural heritage and celebrates where it comes from. We work to educate our students in the cafeteria, using delicious local foods to help strengthen our local food system, and support a vibrant community of Massachusetts farmers and producers.

Local Sourcing

Our meals are filled with wholesome, locally-grown foods prepared with love and integrity. Here are some examples of what you’ll find in our cafeteria, depending on the menu and the season:

Apples: New England, year-round
Broccoli: Harvesting Good, ME
Black beans: Joe Czajkowski Farm- Hadley, MA
Winter squash: Joe Czajkowski Farm- Hadley, MA
Sweet potatoes: Joe Czajkowski Farm- Hadley, MA
Carrots: Joe Czajkowski Farm- Hadley, MA
Kale: Joe Czajkowski Farm- Hadley, MA
Organic tomatoes (September/October): Adsaint Farm- Sterling, MA and Hannan Healthy Foods- Lincoln, MA
Organic Cranberries: Fresh Meadows Farm- Carver, MA
Cabbage-Abrantie Farm, Pepperell MA
Empanadas: Del Sur- Arlington, MA
Samosas: Monsoon Kitchen-Needham, MA
Jerk marinade: Fresh Food Generation- Dorchester, MA
Kale pesto: Commonwealth Kitchen- Dorchester, MA
Tikki Masala sauce: Meal Mantra- Boston, MA
Corn tortillas: Mi Tierra- Hadley, MA
Bagels: One Mighty Mill- Boston, MA
Fish: Red’s Best- Boston, MA
Plant-based patties and meatballs: Northcoast-Boston, MA

Impact

Silver status from the Good Food Purchasing Program.
For school year 2023-2024, our last assessment year with the Good Food Purchasing Program, 18% of our purchases at BPS come from local producers and farmers
For more information on our goals for the future, please see our Annual Report.

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In the Cafeteria

Every BPS menu is thoughtfully designed to highlight local ingredients. You’ll find local produce and products featured in our meals, such as:

Seasonal, local tomatoes on the salad bar
Black beans in our quesadillas, burrito bowls and on the salad bar
Gulf of Maine kelp in our veggie burger and veggie balls

We collaborate with local makers to serve culturally inspired favorites:

Empanadas – Del Sur (Arlington, MA)
Samosas – Monsoon Kitchen (Needham, MA)
Jerk marinade – Fresh Food Generation (Dorchester, MA)
Kelp veggie burgers – Northcoast Seafood (Boston Harbor)
Bagels – One Mighty Mill (Boston)
Fresh, sustainably caught fish – Red’s Best (Boston Harbor)

🌾 Harvest of the Month

Month	September	October	November	December	January	February	March	April	May	June
Featured Food	Tomatoes	Pears	Kale	Carrot	Apple	Squash	Dairy	Potato	Seafood	Strawberry

In the Classroom & Beyond

Nutrition Education: Students at Boston Green Academy experienced a lettuce tasting on September 26th. Lettuce is being grown on site at the BGA Freight Farm and is served daily to students on the salad bar.
School Gardens (if relevant): growing food on-site for learning experiences. Freight Farms at BGA

Sustainability at BPS Eats

We’re committed to reducing waste and caring for our planet.

Composting: We’ve begun composting programs at 40 BPS locations, covering over 60% of total meal production across the city!
Education: Students learn how local eating and waste reduction support both personal health and environmental sustainability.

Our Farm to School values tie it all together: Healthy kids. Healthy community. Healthy planet.

Stories from the BPS Kitchens

Lettuce Tasting Event at Boston Green Academy

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