Calabasas : Schools May Beef Up Math Requirements

Hoping to better prepare students for college and a highly technological job market, the Las Virgenes Unified School District is considering beefing up its math program by requiring high school students to take algebra and geometry to graduate.

The district currently requires that students take two years of basic math. Under a proposal by Supt. John Fitzpatrick, beginning in the 1997-98 school year, students would have to take a year of algebra as freshmen and a year of geometry as sophomores.

The district will discuss the proposal at an informational meeting Jan. 23, Fitzpatrick said, and public hearings are expected to begin in February. The Board of Education has final say.

Although many students are already voluntarily enrolled in algebra and geometry courses, he said, some capable students are avoiding them because they see them as too much work. That hurts their chances of getting into college, he said, and deprives them of learning some of the problem-solving skills they will need to cope with the rapidly changing technology in the job market.

Fitzpatrick, who is in his first year on the job, said he would help students succeed in the more advanced courses by, among other things, upgrading math programs in lower grades, providing tutors for students having difficulty and working to reduce class sizes.

Fitzpatrick said his proposed requirement is one of the recommendations of state Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin to improve schools.

Bob Hamada, who coordinates the mathematics program for the Los Angeles Unified School District, said many districts throughout the nation are upgrading their math programs in similar fashion. The LAUSD plans to upgrade its high school program, he said, “but before we can do that we have to work on the K-8 program to beef that up.”