River Ridge High School Pilots College-Level Math Course Using Technology

Woodstock’s River Ridge High School is piloting an advanced math program for the Cherokee County School District.

After completing Advanced Placement Calculus BC their junior year, two River Ridge students wanted a higher math challenge that wouldn’t require attending college classes off campus through the dual-enrollment program.

Alan Tomusiak and Chetan Velivela are the first students to participate in the Georgia Tech Distance Calculus Program being piloted at their school, which allows high school students to take a research university-level math class and earn college credit on their own high school’s campus using video-conferencing technology.

River Ridge counselor Jeff Bennett and math teacher Mark Lewis worked with the district and Georgia Tech administrators to make the program a reality; the course also will be offered at Woodstock High School for the 2015-16 school year for students who qualify.

Lewis said in order to qualify, students must complete Georgia Tech’s competitive admissions process. In 2013, the average student accepted for the program had a 4.2 math grade point average and had earned a 4.9 on the AP Calculus BC exam.

Bennett said he anticipates this is the first of what will be a trend for high school course offerings.

“As more and more colleges begin to step out of their brick-and-mortar campuses and experiment with distance-learning communities, I do see the program with other colleges expanding,” he said.

Photo credit: Patch file