After first semester grades were calculated, the administration made the decision to offer students in Algebra II the option of transferring to the Functions, Algebra, and Data Analysis class in order to focus on reviewing their knowledge of Algebra concepts.

Functions is a pre-existing class, and the students available for the transfer were, according to Director of School Counseling Jaclyn Smith, a “significant group of students that would benefit more from changing to the Functions class with their current skill set and not the current Algebra II class that they were taking.” Approximately forty students had this option made available to them due to their semester grades being below a “C” average.

According to math teacher Cynthia Sokol, Functions is a relatively new class at Dominion. The transfer of students into the class is a marked effort by the administration to utilize the class effectively and be proactive in ensuring that students would have a good understanding of Algebra II concepts.

Students were approached by their guidance counselors in order to discuss their performance in their Algebra II classes to determine whether or not the transfer would be beneficial to them, according to Smith, and the decision ultimately rested with the parent and student.

Students that chose to transfer were largely the recipients of lateral schedule changes, where they would attend their new Functions class during the same block as their Algebra II class. Smith says that “no student’s entire schedule was affected” as a result of their transfer, and only a small handful of students dealt with more significant schedule changes that affected more than one block of their day.

In addition, principal John Brewer says that “the only grades that should be affected are the ones of the students who moved to the new Functions class. Their first and second quarter grades have been wiped away giving them a fresh start like it never happened.” Brewer also said that the students will receive a half credit for the expunged class of their first semester as well as the half credit from being in Functions second semester.

Smith said the decision was made by Brewer and teachers that only grades received in Functions will appear on the student’s transcripts. The students will only have one semester of math and will receive a final grade based on this.

The pressing need for the class was determined by the fact that “we were very concerned that grades were being affected. We realized that the students were struggling, signifying that they wouldn’t pass the SOL test, which they need for their diploma to graduate,” said Brewer. The class change is to enhance the student’s foundation so that they are able to meet the Algebra II requirement required for graduation next year.