During the 2014-2015 school year, many important changes have been made to the Towson High math department to hopefully help and encourage the students.

New to the department this year are Ms. Bissel-Harris, the new head of the department, teachers Mr. Cohen and Ms. Surguy, and some new curriculum for Algebra 1, 2 and Statistic classes. Ms. Bissel-Harris explains that they are introducing an honors statistics course for those students who don’t want to take advanced placement, but are interested in the class anyway. Hopefully, the hiring of a “variety of teachers, will give the students a variety of experiences.”

Ms. Bissel-Harris says that she wants to make sure in her time as the head of the department that she puts the students at the center of the lesson and that the other teachers collaborate to create classes that place the students first. Her opinion on the new position is that she enjoys it and her favorite part is getting to meet and help all types of students, something which she wouldn’t have been able to do as just a regular math teacher. With all these changes, there has to be something good for the students to look forward to, right?

Of course! The PSAT and the SAT are changing, one which will take place in October and the other in March, to make it easier for the students to test. Ms. Bissel-Harris also mentions that, for the sophomores, the PARCC exam will be shorter.

Incoming and returning students are in for quite a treat, since the department is making great changes to help the students progress in their math skills. There is going to be increased help so the students can do their very best and a decrease in testing, so that studying for coursework is a larger focus. In the long run, there are many math things to look forward to in the future.