Who we are

The X Academy is 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in 2014 to provide STEAM enrichment programs to kids in the Santa Cruz County region.

Founded by Tim Sylvester, the X Academy was inspired by the Math Circles operating in Silicon Valley. Tim sought to bring these same opportunities to kids closer to home in Santa Cruz County by forming the X Academy with encouragement from Dr. Paul Zeitz, co-founder of the San Francisco Math Circle.

Since launching the Santa Cruz Math Circle in 2014, we’ve organized 99 weekly math sessions for 441 students from 62 different schools in Santa Cruz and Monterey County, thirty-eight percent female and one-third from traditionally underrepresented communities of color. The X Academy has hosted six Julia Robinson Math Festivals.

While the Math Circle was upended by the pandemic, the X Academy pilot tested a Robotics Program by preparing a team of 10 students from 3 schools to compete in the  Underwater Robotics Competition in 2021 when the team placed 7th in the World Competition, telepresence division!  In 2022, the robotics team of 20 students from 8 schools with the help of 10 mentors placed 3rd in the Monterey Bay Regional competition. The team won 2nd in 2023, qualifying them to compete in the World Championship where they placed 5th out of 32 teams from around the world - an amazing accomplishment! Recognizing the value of STEM experiences we created, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education entered into a partnership for the X Academy to expand to Watsonville to include 52 students from 15 schools across the county with 15 mentors. This county-wide team went on to win 3rd place at the MATE ROV World Championships in June, 2024!

The X Academy is providing Santa Cruz County students with the kind of STEM programs readily available to Silicon Valley students. With your contribution, we can grow our programs and provide scholarships to talented students who otherwise cannot afford these opportunities.

XAcademy Programs

  • Santa Cruz Math Circle

    Providing a space for students to develop friendships with their intellectual peers and develop confidence in their math identity.

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  • Julia Robinson Math Festival

    Helping students build confidence, joy, and a sense of belonging around math by hosting Math Festivals.

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  • Math Competitions

    Facilitating access to robotics education across the county, in partnership with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

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  • Robotics Clubs

    Empowering students across Santa Cruz County through robotics education while achieving top rankings in regional and world competitions.

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Board of Directors

  • Co-founder of X Academy. Community organizer and workforce development consultant. MA Public Policy John F Kennedy School of Government. BA University of Nebraska.

  • Director of Special Projects, American Institute of Mathematics. PhD Indiana University. Mother of two Santa Cruz City School students and musician.

  • Meister Legal, Attorney. JD Washington University School of Law.

  • GATE Intervention Teacher at Watsonville School of the Arts. Math Circle Teacher. Parent of Tim, Math Circle alum, University of Oregon, freshman economics major.

  • Parent leader at Westlake, Mission Hill and presently Pacific Collegiate School. Robotics Club mentor. BA in Economics University of CA Santa Cruz.  Parent of Nathan, Math Circle and Robotics Club alumni, UC Santa Barbara College of Creative Studies junior math and physics major.

  • Founder of X Academy. Software engineer at Joby Aviation and CTE robotics teacher at Sequoia High School.Previously worked at Netflix, Facebook, Google, Cisco and TGV.  BS in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University. Parent of Andrew, UC Santa Barbara College of Creative Studies sophomore math major.

  • Founder of LEO’s Haven. Parent of Lauren and Evelyn, alumni of the Math Circle and Robotics Club and UC Davis freshmen.

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