Tiana Butler, Providence Hall Junior High School
Apr 24, 2025, 7:27 PM | Updated: May 13, 2025, 12:00 pm
“I struggled with math. Even though it was a financial hardship, my parents paid for a math tutor. It really didn’t help. For me, math was traumatic and often left me in tears.
That was until I was in Tiana Bulter’s math class at Providence Hall Junior High School. When she explained that the angles in a triangle always add up to 180°, it made sense. When she added A and B variables into the equation, I did the math along with her. I felt a surge of joy, because geometry felt easy. This must be how it feels to be good at math.
Ms. Butler changed my life in 20 minutes. I am a substitute teacher with a degree in English. I always thought I was dumb in math. Now I am playing expert level math crossword puzzles on my phone to relax. I am so grateful. All because I sat in on just one of Ms. Butler’s math lectures as a substitute teacher/classroom aide. If Ms. Butler can inspire me to take the initiative to overcome a lifelong aversion to math, I can only imagine the impact she has on the students in her classes at Providence Hall Junior High School.”
-Leona Long
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