West Hills High School 8756 Mast Boulevard • Santee, California 92071 Telephone: (619) 956–0400 • Fax: (619) 562–9342 January 17, 2018 Dear Incoming Freshmen and Parents, At WHHS, we pride ourselves on offering one of the most rigorous and successful math programs in San Diego County. This year marks a major shift in mathematics education in the Grossmont District. We are reorganizing the traditional Algebra 1 – Geometry – Algebra 2 (AGA) sequence of courses and replacing it with Integrated Mathematics 1-2-3 (IM). The content is still the same, but its order has been changed to better facilitate the development of mathematical thought and reasoning. Algebra is still of utmost importance for math in and beyond high school, so it being embedded each year instead of the traditional ‘taking a year off of algebra for geometry’. Many students entering our school this year have advanced in 8th grade or will advance over summer by completing Algebra 1H. These students will enter West Hills in Geometry 1H, and will complete the traditional AGA pathway. We expect that this year, 90% of our students will complete a course of study that fulfills the University of California’s A-G requirement in mathematics. In addition, about one-fourth of the graduating seniors will complete either Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus or AP Statistics. In order to complete AP Calculus, a student must finish the following sequence of courses: IM 1-2-3 or AGA, Precalculus, and AP Calculus – five courses over four years of high school. Those who have taken Algebra 1 in 8th grade will simply take the next four courses in sequence over their time here. The district is currently developing a plan as to how this acceleration will take place for interested students who start in IM 1. West Hills has always tried to identify students who might be up to the challenge of AP Calculus and AP Statistics early on in their high school experience since they are college level classes and students may receive college credit by passing the AP exam. Correct placement early on is very important for success. Due to the changing landscapes of Mathematics, we have developed a chart to help determine how students will access to the curriculum. There are a few options for the math class you will choose for the 2018-2019 school year.

Current Class

8th Grade Common Core Math

8th Grade Algebra

If... ... math can be a struggle ... you are not that interested in math ... your teacher recommends this ... math comes pretty easy to you ... you’ve always been in the higher math class ... your teacher recommends this ... you want to take AP Calculus as a senior ... you still feel unsure about algebra and you think another year would really help ... your teacher recommends this …you feel solid in your algebra skills ... your teacher recommends this

Suggestion IM 1C (college prep) IM 1H (honors) IM 1C or IM 1H Geometry 1H

If you need to contact me to get an idea of what course to take, please feel free. Callers will probably have to leave a voice mail. I usually return calls within 24 hours (emails are quicker). I wish you the best of luck, and truly hope that you will find West Hills to be the finest school in San Diego’s east county. Sincerely yours,

Peter S. Mergens , Mathematics Department Chairman West Hills High School [email protected] (619) 956-0538