Calabasas : Algebra, Geometry to Be Required Classes

Beginning in 1997, Las Virgenes Unified School District will require students to take a year of algebra and geometry to graduate, as part of an effort to beef up the agency’s math program.

The Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved the plan developed by Supt. John Fitzpatrick. Beginning in school year 1997-98, students will have to take a year of algebra in the ninth grade and a year of geometry in the 10th. Currently, students are required to take two years of basic math.

Fitzpatrick said the new requirements will better prepare students for college and today’s highly technological job market. The plan follows a national movement away from what has been called a “dumbing down” of math.

To prepare students, the district will revise the curriculum in lower grades and purchase new textbooks for all grades, officials said. District officials also said more tutors will be added at the high school level.

Students who have serious problems with advanced math will be allowed to take a three-semester algebra course, to give them more time to learn the material, officials said. Then, the students will only have to take a one-semester geometry preparation course, officials said.

Fitzpatrick said he has had to assure some parents that while the new curriculum will place more emphasis on problem solving, it will still place heavy emphasis on basic skills.