BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Foothill College will offer an advanced math class that parents and students have been fighting for at the Palo Alto Unified School District, Principal Brent Kline announced yesterday.
Multivariable Calculus will be offered on Palo Alto High School’s campus during the traditional school day starting in the fall, Kline said.
“We recognize this is an exciting opportunity for our students to accelerate their math learning,” Kline said in an update to students yesterday.
Kline asked students to fill out a form if they’re interested in Multivariable Calculus and said seniors will get priority if the class fills up.
Principal Wendy Stratton confirmed yesterday that Gunn High School will have the same offering.
The debate over Multivariable Calculus has been long and contentious, pitting advanced math advocates against those who are worried about adding pressure on students.
It’s an issue in the upcoming school board race. Candidates Avery Wang and John Craig have pushed for the course while Linda Henigin has said general education classrooms should be the “default placement” for all students.
The controversy goes back to March 2023 when former Superintendent Don Austin said a teacher credentialing issue forced the district to stop offering Multivariable Calculus on campus during the school day.
Parents and students accused Austin of punishing high-achieving students and have been trying to get the course back ever since.
Paly teacher Daniel Nguyen received a master’s degree in math so he could teach Multivariable Calculus, and then he wrote a proposal to follow AP Calculus in the course catalog, starting in the fall.
But the course was opposed by councils of assistant principals, instructional leads and teachers that set the priorities at each high school.
“It risks amplifying the already significant pressures on students to do more, faster, at the expense of balance and wellness,” the Paly Education Council wrote in an Oct. 3 letter to the school board.
The board voted unanimously on Dec. 16 to approve Nguyen’s course, but the councils had the final say.
Nguyen was skeptical that Foothill College would have an instructor to teach Multivariable Calculus during the high school bell schedule. But he was positive about yesterday’s announcement.
“Nothing’s official yet, but I’m heartened by the prospect that our students will finally be able to take these classes during the school day,” Nguyen said in a text message.
De Anza College will continue offering the course in evenings on Zoom and at Palo Alto High School, Kline said.
Board members Rowena Chiu and Alison Kamhi wanted to direct the school to offer the course at a meeting on March 17.
“I firmly believe that students who wish to accelerate should be given the opportunity without constraint,” Chiu said.
Board members Shounak Dharap, Shana Segal and Josh Salcman were worried that overruling educators would set a bad precedent and go against a policy that allows the councils to decide whether to offer a course.
Public schools are in business to serve students and their families, not the employees.
Any kind of ZOOM or related course is really not the same as in person with peers. Demographics in our community has changed. Academic electives are the future. The only reason the District is not pushing higher standards is because of “The Promise” which can’t possibly be kept. Even last night at the board meeting nothing met 100% of the promise. Past and current Board Members seem to be ok making a promise to the community knowing full well that a goal or mission would be a more honest objective. The promise is a lie and it will never be met unless you put a regulator on those who have the ability to academically reach above others and convince the community it is to save lives as well as reduce stress.
The district finally gives in. Terrific. Keep up the pressure to put students first.
An advanced calculus curriculum isn’t going to address the deeper issues behind tragedies like those involving Caltrain.
This feels like another example of decision-makers in Palo Alto operating within a bubble. Why is Palo Alto full of these god-like egos as the such of Don Austin, Ken and [Portion removed — Don’t use obscenity or clever ways to express obscenity.] wife Michelle… news flash to you three, you’re not helping nor will you ever.
Instead, we should be focusing on helping kids build resilience and develop the skills they need to navigate real-world challenges.
The Promise was a con made up by a con artist, Don Austin, and his team of Kenny and Michelle Dauber. All about meeting “The Agenda”. Meanwhile Don gets a buyout to go away after screwing up the Colombo situation and is laughing all the way to the bank. Just the name, The Promise”, is troubling in that the only thing you can promise in education is to educate kids but now even that is debatable with all the social warriors involved in teaching now. Public education is now socialism disguised as public school education with a victim mentality as the main course. Honestly, Palo Alto has some of the smartest, dum…..people on earth.
Exactly!
I’m embarrassed to say I grew up here.
Another way to read this is: The teachers and administrators at Gunn and Paly couldn’t stomach the idea that they would have an accelerated course on campus, like Multivariable Calculus. So they pushed the students who wanted the class over the Foothill. They couldn’t tolerate such a class in their midst. Think of the other advanced classes kids would want. This at a time when they’re trying to end AP classes.
Dharap, Segal and Salcman showed us exactly where they stand. It’s going to take a lot of work to straighten out this school district.
Another interpretation: The Education council, site administrators, and 25 Churchill did not want to deal with the perceived headache of helicopter parents demanding that their unprepared student be admitted into the course in order to pad the college entrance resume under threat of legal action. Of course, you can’t say that publicly, so you use the cover of “student wellness”.
That said, it is still not a good enough reason to deny a course to students ready, willing, and able that is already being offered in other districts. Hopefully the Dauber era has come to an end.
What a shocker, some feminist power hungry law professor wants it her way.
[Portion removed — Don’t use obscenity or clever ways to express obscenity.]
Jethro did quite well with a “sixth grade” education…
It is difficult for some of us to believe some of the ‘arguments’ against public schools offering elective classes that are of considerable importance to math/science/STEM oriented students. Math is the language of science.