‘You Can Do This:’ Sarasota Math Coach Khaliah Augustin Pays it Forward

Like many of her students at Sarasota Acceleration Academies, Khaliah Augustin once did her best to avoid math. Then she entered the classroom of a teacher who did her best not only to demystify equations, but also to inspire the young woman.

“She said, ‘You can do this,’ ” Augustin recalls, the gratitude clear in her soft voice. “She believed in me.”

As the math content coach at Sarasota Acceleration Academies, Augustin has been paying that gift forward since joining the academy team in October 2020. With bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math and a commitment to helping each graduation candidate realize their potential, she has helped many young men and women get a fresh start in math.

Grad Markel Jackson, for instance, said she provided as much one-on-one help as he needed. “Anything I didn’t understand 100 percent, she was there to back me.”

A native of Queens, NY, Augustin had previously taught large classes at traditional schools. At SAA, she relishes the chance to sit down with students one at a time. “Here, you’re really getting to know the student one-on-one, really analyzing what they need to advance in the course.”

For many, math has been a struggle subject. Because of the Acceleration Academies method of taking one course at a time, though, the young learners have a chance to focus in until they master the material.

“When I came here, there were some GCs who didn’t even want to touch their math course,” she says. But through patient explanation and practice, she helps them overcome their fear and — sometimes — even find a love of math. “That’s inspiring to me. That’s what keeps me going.”

Augustin is no stranger to working with young people who face steep challenges. In her career, she’s worked with teenagers who are homeless, emerging from a criminal detention center, making their way through the foster care system, and dealing with life in neighborhoods riven by drugs and violence.

At SAA, she’s also had the experience of working with students who have children of their own; the program’s flexibility makes it easier for teen parents to juggle their personal and academic priorities. “It’s the first job I’ve had where students were raising two kids,” she says. “Kudos to them.”

While many enter the building with their heads hung low due to the frustrations of the past, she loves to see them rise up with one win after another. And those wins come only when the GCs put in the work.

“I feel like students have more of a voice; most of them can advocate for themselves,” she says. At the same time, “they’re held accountable.”

Want to pursue your high school diploma in the powerfully personalized way that has worked for Markel and hundreds of other students? Check out the Sarasota Acceleration Academies page to find out how you can #OwnYourSuccess.