“It’s going to be really cold to walk over in the winter,” said Conor Fitzpatrick, an OMS eighth grader. This however, was the only disadvantage he could think of when asked about his experience taking high school courses in middle school. Fitzpatrick is one of several eighth grade students who walk over to OHS every day to take advanced classes, such as Honors Algebra II and Accelerated Intro to Physics.

Brandy Randall, OHS Gifted and Talented Coordinator, explained that kids have been involved in this program since 2002. The acceleration happened “in response to a need for accelerated programs or more rigor,” said Randall. It originally began with single-subject acceleration, as early as intermediate school. Fifth graders would goto the middle school to take sixth grade classes and sixth graders would take seventh grade classes.

The acceleration also continues to the high school. Math teacher Jesse Allex has had middle school students in his classes the previous three years. He said of the eighth graders,“they seem to do relatively well in comparison to the rest of the class.”

OHS sophomore Carson Miller was involved in the program in middle school. “In seventh grade, I took Honors Geometry, which is a high school class, though not actually at the high school, and in eighth grade I actually came over to the high school to take Honors Algebra II and Accelerated IPS,” explained Miller.

“The advantages for them are obvious,” said OHS science teacher, Gregory Pusch. “They get a jump on their required coursework and that clears up their schedule for other classes later in high school.” Due to the acceleration, Miller, as a sophomore, is able to take classes such as Calculus and Accelerated Chemistry and is planning on being involved in college or PSEO classes over the next two years.

There are certain disadvantages to the program, such as schedules that don’t quite match up. “We try to schedule their classes at the beginning of the day to give them time to walk over in time for their classes at the middle school,” explained Randall.

Miller was offered an Enriched English class at the high school as well, but decided to decline, reasoning that he didn’t want to separate himself too much from his class. “They are never fully connected with their school,” Randall added.

“It can be a little weird at first to have them mixed in with the high school sudents, but it all depends on experiences, interest levels and abilities as to how it matches up,” stated Pusch. The benefits seem to outweigh the costs, however. Pusch said, “The kids I have are very bright and they raise the bar for the rest of the class.”

The program offers kids the opportunity to challenge themselves, access more rigorous courses and add more to the high school classes. Fitzpatrick stated, “Taking these classes has been a great challenge and very interesting.”

“I think we’re in a good position all around,” added Pusch, “It’s great to see this happening across the district.”

Andrea Conover is the Copy Chief for The Spartan Speaks.