Jason Catanese splits his time between teaching at Pueblo del Sol and Morris K. Udall middle schools before heading to the Camp Catanese Foundation office to continue his mission of expanding college access. 28 | FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE 28 | FRON TDOORS M AGAZINE

BY KAREN WERNER I n the West Phoenix neighborhood of Maryvale, where ZIP code has long shaped opportunity, a revolution is being led by a man with a big personality and a radical obsession with eighth-grade math. Jason Catanese doesn’t look like a disruptor. A Northwestern graduate with the polished demeanor of the politician he once dreamed of becoming, Catanese is the founder, executive director and heart of the Camp Catanese Foundation. But to the students who mob him in the hallways of Pueblo del Sol and Morris K. Udall middle schools, he is simply “Mr. Cat” — the man who convinced them that a quadratic equation is the key to a different life. In Arizona, the path to a prosperous future is paved with numbers — specifically, the eighth-grade math proficiency scores that act as a litmus test for high school success. Currently, according to Center for the Future of Arizona’s Education Progress Meter (co-developed by CFA and Education Forward Arizona), only 27 percent of Arizona students are hitting that mark, a staggering distance from the state’s goal of 69 percent. But at Camp Catanese, these aren’t just statistics; they are opportunities for intervention. Catanese is translating cold data into warm, human success stories, transforming raw potential into something luminous, and in the process, reframing what’s possible. How Jason Catanese started an after-school math class that changed the equation for his students The Geometry of Hope COVER STORY FRONTDOORS MAGAZINE | 29