Math Department on the Move in Huntington
Math is one of those academic disciplines that take lots of effort and hard work to master. Huntington School District students are increasingly taking up the challenge of tough math courses and many have joined competitive math teams at the secondary level, too. Some might say that math is becoming more popular by the day.
This fall, the district’s math program has been on the move at all grade levels. For example, the Math Expressions book series has now been brought to the third grade level. The program debuted on the elementary level last year.
The Math Expressions series is published by Houghton-Mifflin and Huntington kindergarten, first and second grade students were the first ones to utilize it. Teachers were provided with professional development training sessions to smooth the transition to the new series.
Houghton-Mifflin “offers great resources for students and families,” said Wayne Edwards, Huntington’s director of math, who is encouraging visits to the publisher’s website. The address for parents is www.eduplace.com/parents/mthexp/. A link is also available for students at www.eduplace.com/kids/mthexp/. For more information call Mr. Edwards at 673-2077 or send him an e-mail at wedwards@hufsd.edu.
At J. Taylor Finley Middle School, teachers and seventh grade students are also working with a new book series. The McDougal Littell – Course 3 program was chosen after careful study by middle school and sixth grade teachers who came to believe it will serve the district well. Students also have access to the book online at www.classzone.com. Parents are encouraged to log on and view it, too.
At Huntington High School, 69 students are enrolled in the Harvard pre-calculus course, which is being offered here for the first time. The course marks a partnership between the high school and Nassau Community College. It allows students to earn four college credits upon completion and 40 students have selected that option.
The course is being taught by Kathleen Aufiero and Monica Racz. The teachers attend a one-week mandatory training session at NCC over the summer. The pair indicated that they learned a great deal from the training and were very eager to start teaching the course. The training also gave the teachers opportunities to network with other participating districts such as Syosset, Levittown, Valley Stream, and Kings Park.
Parents are responsible for paying the registration fee as well as the relatively nominal tuition, which is offered at one-third the cost to others. The district picked up the tab for course textbooks.
“The mission of the NCC Partnership Program in Mathematics is to provide a rich mathematical experience for high school students,” according to the new course proposal submitted during the approval process. “The program strives to foster the understanding of mathematics and its role in a technological society.”
Huntington students completing the course are eligible to receive one high school credit and four college credits for finite mathematics, pre-calculus or calculus without ever leaving the high school or disrupting their regular schedule of classes. The credits are transferable to over 99 percent of colleges in the country. More than 3,000 high school students have previously participated in the program. Students are not required to take the course for college credit.
The new course has replaced an AP Pre-Calculus AB course. “We still offer AP Pre-Calculus BC and a pre-calculus course which is not at the AP level,” Mr. Edwards said. During the first two years of the program, all participating teachers are required to attend user groups that meet approximately four times per year at NCC. Harvard Pre-Calculus course students have access to their textbook on line at www.wileyplus.com.
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