Arcata High School will no longer offer Math 1 as of the 2025/2026 school year.
Arcata High School’s Math 1 class covers foundational skills that prepare students for Integrated Math 1. Next school year, it will be replaced with Integrated 1A and Integrated 1B which will split the content of Integrated 1 over two years.
Several factors led district administrators to make this decision.
First of all, Math 1 is not an A-G course. So although it fulfills graduation requirements, it does not count toward the math credits needed for college eligibility. Administrators aim for Integrated 1 A and B to count towards both sets of requirements.
“What we’re trying to do is make it so that students can be successful with their graduation requirements as well as their A-G [requirements],” the Northern Humboldt Union High School District Superintendent, Roger Macdonald said.
There were also concerns about Math 1’s lack of a standardized curriculum, which means that teachers approach the class differently.
Integrated 1 A and B will have “a more specific curriculum over two years with a focus on getting through those Integrated 1 standards for students that are struggling at the outset,” Macdonald said.
Based on metrics such as grades, academic screeners, and A-G completion rates, administrators don’t believe that Math 1 is leading to overall student success. However, some teachers believe this may be a result of underlying issues such as chronic absenteeism as opposed to issues with the class itself.
While Math 1 may not have led to measurable success for everybody, some former students can attest to the class’s advantages.
Senior Ahava Lewin took Math 1 as a freshman. She recalls feeling left out because most of her peers were in Integrated 1, but ultimately believes the class was helpful.
“Before I took that class… I really struggled with math and… [that] brought down my confidence,” Lewin said. “Then after I took that class I understood stuff more, so it made me have more hope for understanding math in general, and it definitely did bring up my confidence.”
This confidence benefited her throughout high school. She attributes some of her current success in Integrated 3 to her time in Math 1.
Several math teachers have expressed their support for the Math 1 class and their concerns about its replacement.
“I have reservations about starting [students] off straight into the Integrated 1 curriculum when I’ve seen personally so many students that need those foundational skills before they’re ready for that,” Dorian Koczera, a math teacher said.
He plans to combat this issue by integrating some foundational skills from Math 1 into the Integrated curriculum.
This is a plan that Macdonald seems to support.
“In every class, there is absolutely time for teachers to reteach or to offer up instruction for a skill that their students don’t have,” Macdonald said.
While many students and teachers feel confused and frustrated by this decision, some remain cautiously optimistic that this new math pathway will provide students with the same support that Math 1 has in the past.
“Foundational skills are so important,” Lewin said. “So hopefully with Integrated 1 A and B, there’s still some Math 1 hidden in there.”
Will this change remove support that students find so helpful, or will it help them access more opportunities during and after high school? Only time will tell.
