The goal of the Stewart Academy mathematics coursework is that all of our students understand and appreciate the mathematics they are studying. Students need to be able to read, write, explore, and communicate mathematics with an emphasis on students being able to use mathematics as they need to in their lives. We believe that problem solving (investigating, conjecturing, predicting, analyzing, and verifying), followed by a well-reasoned presentation of results, is central to the process of learning mathematics, and that this learning happens most effectively in a cooperative, student-centered classroom. Stewart Academy believes that algebra is important as a modeling and problem-solving tool. As in most Stewart Academy classes, mathematics is studied seminar-style, with students and instructor seated around a large table. This pedagogy demands that students be active contributors in class each day. They are expected to ask questions, to share their results with their classmates, and to be prime movers of each day's investigations. The benefit of such participation in the students' study of mathematics is an enhanced ability to ask effective questions, to answer fellow students' inquiries, and to critically assess and present their own work. The ultimate goal is that the students, not the teacher or a text-book, be the source of mathematical knowledge.