A new math pilot program focused on reasoning and will be implemented at Edison High School over the next academic year.

   Edison Local Assistant Superintendent Julie Kireta said the college-level math review program will be open to juniors and seniors and at least one teacher will head to Columbus to be trained as an instructor. Kireta said six other school districts have already enacted the program and Edison wanted to expound upon its math offerings to provide more challenging learning opportunities.

   “It’s called the Mathematics Modeling and Reasoning Course Pilot Project through the Ohio Department of Education and is new take on college review math,” Kireta said. “They were looking for a mix of rural and urban school districts to get involved, and building on our math has been one of the goals for the school year. We’re trying to offer students higher level thinking in math and this is for someone who is planning to go to college but not majoring in the math field.”

   She added that it will help reinforce algebra, statistics, probability and geometry and focuses more on reasoning and problem-solving skills. So far, EHS math teacher Jessica McAllister has been recruited to instruct the class, but first she must undergo a three-day training session this summer in Columbus to prepare. Kireta continued that the DOE will collect data on the program while McAllister will have online sessions with other teachers to discuss progress and challenges they may be facing.

   Kireta said the district applied to participate late last year and was accepted around January. She added that students must have already completed Algebra and geometry courses to take the course.

   “This is just an opportunity we thought we’d take advantage of for curriculum enhancement and professional development,” she concluded.