Multivariable Calculus to be offered in the fall
STUDIOUS STUDENT — Sophomore Miles Hua speaks at the recent May 9th board meeting about the exclusion of Multivariable Calculus from dual enrollment credits. Hua was unable to take Multivariable Calculus this year because he did not make it off the waitlist. This year, he hopes he will be able to take the class, and is excited with the direction of changes to the class. “It’s good that they are finally starting to make changes after resisting for so long,” Hua said. “I think the last board meeting did have a good effect on Don Austin and the rest of the [school] board.” Photo: Courtesy of Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education
Multivariable Calculus will be offered after school next year at Palo Alto High School following numerous statements in school board meetings and an open letter to the Board of Education co-signed by over 400 people.
Multivariable Calculus, an advanced math class that comes after BC calculus, is currently not offered at Palo Alto High School nor Henry M. Gunn High School. Historically, students have taken this class at Foothill College, but recent changes to state-dual enrollment laws have made it harder for high school students to enroll.
I am disappointed. Like so many others, my family came to this district in search of better education, better resources, better policies. And yet, we lag behind our neighbors in a subject we once prided ourselves in excelling in: math.
— Palo Alto High School sophomore Aleksey Valouev
Paly sophomore Aleksey Valouev attended a board meeting to express his desire for multivariable calculus.
“I am disappointed. Like so many others, my family came to this district in search of better education, better resources, better policies,” Valouev said. “And yet, we lag behind our neighbors in a subject we once prided ourselves in excelling in: math.”
An email from superintendent Don Austin later announced that Paly would offer a high-schooler-only Multivariable Calculus class, resolving most of the requests from and issues expressed in the open letter.
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