When most eighth graders are settling into a day at middle school, a few select students are stepping off of a van and walking into South. For over 25 years, students from feeder middle schools have attended accelerated math courses at South, Philip Gartner, Instructional Supervisor of Mathematics, said.

The program was created to offer advanced middle school students more math course options; there are a multitude of choices for middle schoolers who are double-accelerated, another term for freshmen who take Honors Algebra 2, Gartner said. Taking high school classes as an eighth grader allows students to move through the math curriculum so that as seniors, they take courses through a college, Gartner said.

Middle school math teachers initiate the recommendation process by reaching out to a potential student’s family, Gartner said. From there, students either take a semester exam or come directly to South for a placement test, Gartner said. Their results determine whether they are placed in a higher or lower level, ensuring they are challenged appropriately, Gartner said.

“The placement is a collaborative process with the middle school, parent, and the instructional supervisor,” Gartner said. “[The program] can give the student a challenge and avoid having to learn independently or online at their home school.”

The experience can help students learn advanced mathematics and problem-solving skills, overcome challenges, and enhance their transcripts, Gartner added. The program allowed current senior Selma Farhan to take Algebra 2 Honors after moving from Evanston to Glenview, while still being able to attend her other middle school classes, she said.

“[The program] helped [me] adjust,” Farhan said. “When I finally did come to high school, it made it a little easier because there were some kids I knew [already] and I knew how [high school] classes worked.”

Farhan now takes Ordinary Differential Equations through Oakton College, asynchronously. She appreciates the freedom these online classes offer her and the college credit she would be able to receive, Farhan explained. For sophomore Olivia Turner, completing a higher level of math as an eighth grader helped her mature because of higher expectations at South, Turner said.

“Being in a high school class, there [was] more homework and the tests were harder,” Turner said. “But it was a good challenge. Being in a high school class really helped with the transition from middle school to high school.”

Hunar Bhatnagar contributed to this story.