Algebra To Return To These Bay Area Middle Schools After 10+ Years: Report

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — After a decade-long effort to restore Algebra I classes at San Francisco middle schools, parents will rejoice to know that the course will be offered next school, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

However, district officials are weighing three possible ways the class could be offered, which could come as a disappointment to some.

According to the Chronicle, district officials have outlined three possible approaches to offering Algebra I in middle school: allowing eighth-grade students to take the course as an elective while still requiring Math 8; offering Algebra I as an alternative to Math 8 for students who meet certain academic criteria; or requiring Algebra I for all students, with more support for those who need it.

As of Friday, Algebra I as an elective appeared to be the leading option based on information shared with families at school sites.

A parent at Roosevelt Middle School told the Chronicle that a seventh-grade math teacher indicated this plan was being presented by district staff to students earlier in the week.

According to the newspaper, the school board had not yet been briefed on any formal recommendations and had not reviewed the results of a Stanford University study examining the outcomes of each pilot program, including the three in-person options and a fourth online-only Algebra I course.

The issue has been contentious for more than a decade, dating back to the board’s decision to remove Algebra I from middle schools in an effort to keep students on a unified math track until high school, a move that sparked a prolonged dispute, including a symbolic ballot initiative that overwhelmingly supported Algebra I in eighth grade and a subsequent lawsuit.

Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle: Algebra will return to S.F. middle schools after more than a decade. Here’s how it could play out