Coming to Westside High School for the first time as a freshman is hard, and for middle schoolers it is even harder to adapt to the chaotic environment. Multiple eighth-graders including: Victoria Fleming, Isabella Forman and Reese Pike, travel to the high school to take advanced math classes almost every morning.

“We are eighth-graders that come from Westside Middle School to do a math class called honors advanced algebra,” Pike said.

The students are in math instructor Linda Rau’s Honors Advanced Algebra class along with current Westside High School freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

“We have never been intimidated by upperclassmen because we do not really care what they think about us,” Fleming said. “The only thing is that the high school is a lot bigger than the middle school, so sometimes it’s hard to get around everywhere.”

These students are in a math class that is three classes more advanced than the typical middle schooler. Most of the junior class at Westside takes Advanced Algebra.  

“We took a test in fifth-grade to be able to take this math class, so only a few select students got into the course,” Forman said. “The math class that we are in is a challenge compared to most of our other middle school classes.”

Rau encourages the opportunity the few students have.

“Sometimes to do the upper level math that these students are in you need brain development,” Rau said. “So if you’re not old enough, you’re usually not ready. But, the students that I have are very well prepared and are having no problems, they are handling the class very well.”

The challenge that the eighth-graders have taken on by enrolling in this course will benefit their math skills for their future years at Westside High School.

“We think this course should be available to more students at the middle school and other middle schools because it is a great experience,” Fleming said.