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bottleboy8 t1_iw0ud1g wrote

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—It was a sticky Thursday afternoon in the middle of summer break when dozens of teenagers walked through the doors of their high school. One of the world’s most dominant teams was about to start math practice.

There was probability in one classroom and pre-algebra next door, code-breaking down the hall and number theory around the corner. And there were few adults to be found anywhere. The students would spend the rest of the day teaching each other.

I had also come here to learn from them. I wanted to understand how this otherwise average public high school in Florida had managed to win 13 of the last 14 national math championships.

The Buchholz High School math team is a dynasty built by one teacher with a strategy for identifying talent, maximizing potential and optimizing the American system of education.

Will Frazer popped out of his flaming red Corvette as his students were trickling into the classrooms. A bond trader on Wall Street in the 1980s, Mr. Frazer retired young and moved to Florida, where he became a scratch golfer and lived the dream for a decade. Then he got bored.

He took a job at Buchholz coaching golf, switched to teaching math, quickly formed a math team, applied the lessons of his experience in finance and turned a bunch of teenage quants into a fearsome winning machine.

“The difference between what I do now and what I did on Wall Street is that I used to get paid money,” said Mr. Frazer, 63. “Now we get trophies.”

The extraordinary thing about the Buchholz math team is how ordinary Buchholz is. It’s ranked 66th among schools in Florida and outside the top 1,000 across the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. But at the annual championships of Mu Alpha Theta, the national math honor society, the Buchholz kids have trouble counting the shiny objects they lug home.

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thatonewhitejamaican t1_iw3yzgo wrote

Probably also helps when you have a ton of students of professors in the area of university of Florida.

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Gemmabeta t1_iw0rv3u wrote

In case you are wondering, yes, practically the entire team is Asian.

https://www.buchholzmathteam.com/team-members

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FollowingEfficient70 t1_iw1gxv8 wrote

Before a math competition:"We're committed to diversity and proud of our multi-racial background that makes us strong!"

​

At a math competition: "Go get em' boys..." *Unloads a trailor of Asians*.

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Ryan3740 t1_iw1f1o6 wrote

Alachua County high schools also mix kids around a lot. Think of each high school specializing in a different field. Kids that want to program or engineer go to school A, Nursing and Police go to B, culinary arts to C,…

Gainesville is a well diversified city, with a lot of foreign families moving there to work at the University of Florida.

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HalensVan t1_iw1ony9 wrote

A positive public school story about Florida?

Niice. Good job Math Team

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c00chieluvr t1_iw21db8 wrote

Read this too fast, thought this said Meth team. Congratulations to Florida either way

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Tatunkawitco t1_iw2gsqz wrote

Either way … top meth or math team … good for them!

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Jnnjuggle32 t1_iw59xsq wrote

It’s Gainesville, which is one of the few places I’d move back to if I had the option.

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MallowollaM t1_iw0r0vl wrote

Florida is also known for America's greatest meth team

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Tegovernment t1_iw2sv33 wrote

Hey I went to high school there. Neat seeing your city in the news. Also I took Statistics from Mr Frazer and I'm so glad to see he hasn't changed, was one of my favorite and goofiest teachers but he knew how to explain things in a way we would understand.

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charliedontplaydat t1_iw2bg2i wrote

I fully expected it to be Pine View, Sarasota County, Florida.

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Javamac8 t1_iw2ul3y wrote

Should we really be teaching Florida Boy math? When he grows up to be Florida Man, he'll be far more dangerous.

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