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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 4, 2011 · 10 HERITAGE Lifestyle Home Furnishings SINCE 1977 HU DIN IN-STO GE ING CK S AV S A L ING E S! Math pilot takes flight By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF "Most important to us is that the students The Halton District School entering this are Board has resurrected a pro- successful." gram that has not been available for several years. Now, just two months into the school year, seven students are on track to getting a Grade 9 math credit before they even enter high school. They are participating in a pilot project of an accelerated math program at Gardiner Public School in Georgetown. Accelerated math was a common practice in school boards in the past, but has not been available in Halton for some time. Late last year, trustees voted to bring back such a program. The current crop of students is in Grades 7 and 8, most of them in the self-contained, gifted class in the school. Board staff have chosen to start with a small group and will measure the effectiveness of the program before expanding it further. Jeff Blackwell, associate educaation director, Halton District School Board SOLID WOOD DINING ROOM SALE MANY IN-STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY 4205 Fairview Street, Burlington · 905-634-5298 www.heritagefurniture.ca "For the school and board staff looking at this, most important to us is that the students entering this are successful," associate director Jeff Blackwell told trustees at the Nov. 2 board meeting. The project is being piloted in the self-contained gifted class, however, one student who had been identified as gifted, but opted to remain in the regular class, is also part of the program. The program has three Grade 7 students and four Grade 8s. The Grade 7s are doing "three years over two," meaning they are learning math at a pace quick enough that they will go through Grade 7, 8 and 9 material in two years. The Grade 8 students are doing "two years over one." Because the school board doesn't offer an accelerated Grade 9 math class, the students will take lessons through an online e-learning course, provided through the AvonMaitland Distance Education Centre. The cost of the online program is $725 per student, or $5,075 total. Director of Education David Euale said the cost to the board is minimal and that if the board were to provide a teacher, it would have to pay that additional salary. The students chosen for the program had to go through an assessment, which measured both student skills in math and attitude. "We felt comfortable about the students we selected," Blackwell said. "The assessment showed a high probability of success."