Somers math students trailblazers for advanced opportunities

Kian Ahern and Katie Anderson may look like normal teenagers, but these two 8th grade Somers students have a unique set of skills that sets them far apart from many of their peers: They like math.

In fact, for the most part, math has long come easy for the dynamic duo, who found themselves taking math at Flathead High School this year, side by side with freshmen, sophomores and even a few juniors.

Teachers have found it difficult to keep the two of them challenged since they were in the fourth grade. Consequently, their parents and teachers got together and decided that the only logical step to take was to move them up a grade in their math studies.

Thus, they began in fifth grade to take sixth grade math online - something that proved to be a less than ideal solution, since there was no classroom and no teacher to ask questions if they had trouble. Questions had to be asked via e-mail, which might not be answered for days.

"I think the district wanted to continue on, even if it wasn't with online courses," Kian's mom, Michelle, said. "They did continue on, just in a different direction, and I really appreciated that."

The next year, in sixth grade, Ahern and Anderson both took seventh grade math with Somers math teacher Katie Hipple, who was highly revered by her students for making learning fun for the kids. Her willingness to work with the two lower classmen made the transition go much more smoothly.

"I think that was key," Michelle said. "If it wouldn't have been fun when they were younger, it probably wouldn't have worked. This has never been something that they had to do. It's always been up to them, whether they wanted to take advanced classes."

Kian and Katie both continued on taking advanced classes with Hipple through last year. At that time, they were in seventh grade, taking eighth grade math with an eighth grade class. At the same time, Kian's sister Megan was in sixth grade, also needed to be challenged and sitting in on Hipple's seventh grade class.

"I think any time we can meet the needs of higher achieving students, it is a good thing," Katie's mom, Marlene, said. "I think it's an important step for schools to keep thinking about raising that ceiling and providing higher achieving students with opportunities for advancement.

"I've very happy that [Superintendent] Dr. Wing made the commitment to these kids when they were in the fifth grade and stuck with it. Because of that, it has paved the way for future children to follow in that same."

So at the end of last year, Somers Principal Lori Shieffer approached Kian and Katie's parents with the idea of moving the pair to the high school for math when they returned in the fall. Shieffer also talked to the high school and worked out the details, the most challenging of which would be the students' schedule and transportation.

However, the high school was receptive and even arranged a meeting with their future math teacher, Lee Huestis, last spring.

"It has happened, in the past, but not for while," Huestis said. "I've been at Flathead going on my eighth year, and this is the first time that I've done something like this at Flathead High School. It's all about skill building. If a student's skills need to be at the upper level, non-grade level, then that's where we want them to be. They could easily be with juniors or seniors, if that's where their skills need to be.

Ahern and Anderson began taking high school geometry with Huestis in first period in the fall of last year, where they have continued until the present. At first, the two of them felt like they had to prove themselves, and there progress was watched closely, but it became evident early on that they were going to do alright.

"It was kind of weird, the first week or so," Ahern said. "People didn't even know we were in eighth grade. They just thought that we were short because there are some short people there."

Huestis actually told them not to tell anywhere how old they were or what grade they were in, because he wanted them to be accepted by the other students.

"I try to treat them exactly like I would any other student," Heustis said, "and they fit in very nicely. I applaud the desires of both schools to do this. Brining eighth graders into a AA school and expecting them to perform, that's a daunting task. But, they have actually gelled pretty nicely with the students."

Huestis stressed the need to evaluate each case on an individual basis, adding that not all students, either in their learning potential or in their learning styles. Many children, he said, have over-achieving parents who overestimate their children's learning abilities and would like to place them into something they are not ready for.

Fortunately, he said, that was not the case with Ahern and Anderson.

"Here, the parents and school recognize that they do have two students who are gifted and need to have their skills improved at a little bit faster rate," he said. "It's a good bar that they set for their students, and it's not so high that they can't achieve it.

"In my teaching experience, I believe that education is foremost the students' responsibility. Do they want to be educated? If they do want to be educated, then we as teachers can challenge them and try to give them the skills that they need. If not, they're going to coast."

While much of the responsibility of keeping students challenged and developing their true potential lies with the students themselves, Marlene stressed that parents need to keep an eye on their children and recognize when they're abilities are not being challenged appropriately.

"Parents need to be aware that there are opportunities out there for advancement that can provide the kind of challenge that higher achieving students need," she said. "As parents, we need to be an advocate for that."