By Mary L. Grady

When Michael Chang, 11, came from Korea two years ago with his parents and younger sister Ellen, he did not speak English. As he began school at Island Park Elementary School, he enrolled in the private, accredited Complete Education Academy on Mercer Island for help with his English. He stayed to keep ahead in math.

Chang, a fifth-grader, has little trouble with his English now. He is in the advanced math class at his school where students can work a grade level or more ahead of their classmates. His tutor helps him get “the hang of it” on new concepts before he sees them at school, he said.

“I want to keep challenging myself,” he said of the math he is learning with his tutor.

The math curriculum taught at Complete Education Academy, called the Singapore Curriculum, has Chang working on math a full two years beyond his grade level, said Brent Davis, headmaster at the school.

It is easy to imagine that Chang will continue with private instruction, perhaps taking all of his mathematics classes away from the high school, but for public high school credit.

The number of students taking classes for credit at private academies outside Mercer Island High school has risen rapidly. Is it a natural next step for students and their parents already paying for tutoring, or is it a more systemic indicator that the school district cannot meet the needs of all students?

By law, public schools in Washington state must accept credits from other schools if they are accredited by the state. That will probably will not change. But public schools have the option of how to treat those credits and grades in determining grade point averages and class rankings.

And in response to how outside classes for credit should be considered, the school district has formed a new committee to look into how outside credits are handled. They hope to have a new policy in place this fall, Superintendent Cyndy Simms said.

The district has long recognized that tutoring on the Island is an important and growing phenomenon. And it appears that much of the tutoring and most of the growth in classes for credit taken outside the high school is in math.

The old, much-reviled integrated math curriculum has been replaced. Some students, however, are caught between what they are prepared for from the old curriculum to be ready to step up to the next level of the new. Because of that, many students have dropped out of the integrated 3 class at the high school and are enrolled in classes for credit at the Privett Academy. This is the last year for Integrated 3, as district planners will have completed the transition of matching classes to the new curriculum.

Still others say that the style of teaching may be part of the problem. Integrated 3 uses an “inquiry-based” type of instruction rather than a more traditional approach. Inquiry based-teaching is where the teacher introduces a topic or concept, and students are left to learn the material more or less independently.

Fine-tuning math instruction has long been a district strategic goal. The district says that it is committed to accommodating all math students, from those who struggle to those who are able to work well beyond grade level.

Simms points out that nearly two-thirds of all Islander eighth-grade students are already taking algebra, something most do not start until high school.

The district has provided opportunities for students to work beyond grade level. The School Board approved new gifted and accelerated math classes at both the elementary and middle school level. Principals and planners say they are working to ensure that students at all levels are able to continue through the programs when they move on through schools.

Late last spring, the district did a survey of parents to find out attitudes about the math programs and the use of outside instruction.

But despite extensive publicity about the survey and the general impression that many are very concerned about how mathematics are taught at the district, only 16 percent, or 426 responses, were collected.

“While the survey did not include enough responses to be statistically valid, the results give us some good ideas and something to work on,” said Michael Power , director of instruction and assessment for the schools.

A large proportion of students and their parents view tutoring as helpful, he said.

Nearly everyone recognizes the benefits of one-on-one instruction and that all students who need extra help at one time or another. Administrators aren’t sure if the trend signals that the public school is lacking.

“I want to emphasize that we (the school district) can meet the needs of all students,” Patti Weber, director of curriculum for the school district, said of the students who leave to get help elsewhere. “Both those who struggle and those who need enrichment.”

In the near future, students will be required to take a math test at the end of each year to see if they are ready to move on, re-take a class or receive more help. The high school has begun an after school tutoring sessions in all subjects including math.

At least a couple of parents at the community meeting on governance goals for the Mercer Island School Board, held Jan. 19, suggested that the schools work more closely with the private schools. They felt that the ability of students to earn credit at private academies should remain an option.

At a private school such as Privett and Educational Tutoring and Consulting Preparatory Academy (ETC), it costs more than $5,000 for a single class, excluding costs of extra curriculum materials or an initial consult.

The view of private academies is that they are complementing what the school districts provide.

“Why shouldn’t parents seek out extra help for their children,” asked Meredith Ouellette, the executive director of ETC.

All three accredited private academies are planning for more students to take classes for credit. Carol Meyer, the director and owner of Privett Academy, is obtaining building permits to expand her school. She said she wants to eventually become a diploma-granting institution, but wants her students to participate in sports and other activities at the high school.

But a little perspective on the overall impact of outside credits is helpful.

The number of outside credits earned by high school students represents only a tiny fraction of the total number of classes and credits on MIHS transcripts.

At the present time, 1,400 students are enrolled at Mercer Island High School, taking an average of five classes each a semester. The number of classes taken for credit outside the high school represents perhaps less than half of 1 percent of that amount.