JACKSON HIGH FIGHTS CROWDING IN MATH AND SCIENCE COURSES

JACKSON -- When Jackson High School chemistry teacher Rita Rees needs to use the school's physics and chemistry lecture-lab room, it means three other teachers and their students must switch classrooms.

In order to prepare for her lab classes, Rees must come in either before school or stay after school on the day before.

The lab was designed for no more than 20 students, but the average number of students in any of her chemistry classes ranges from 25-27 students. With students almost elbow to elbow, the use of acid and other hazardous chemicals, sharp instruments, expensive instruments and lab glassware is a potentially dangerous situation.

In short, says Principal Vernon Huck, the science and math departments at Jackson High School are approaching a crisis situation in the next few years. Rapidly increasing enrollment in science and math courses has outstripped the school's facilities.

Huck is chairman of the ad hoc Science-Math Building Program that has prepared a question and answer report for the school board. Members of the committee include the high school's math and science teachers, school board member Vicky McDowell and school board President Darrell Hanschen.

To resolve the crowding problem, the committee has proposed building a $3 million, two-level, science and math addition to the high school's Building C, formerly the old Central Elementary School. The addition would be located on the south side of the building, facing Highway 72-34.

The Jackson School Board is expected to discuss the addition, and other capital improvements, during its day-long Jan. 15 retreat in the high school cafeteria.

Huck said this school year will see the last "small" graduating class at Jackson High School. He said this year, 268 seniors will graduate. Next year's class of seniors will be well over 300. Within five years, that number will increase to 345 seniors.

Said Huck, "This is a natural growth of students who are already in the elementary and secondary school system who will eventually move up to become seniors. It does not take into account students who move into the district each year for the next five years. And I'm getting calls each day from parents asking how to enroll their children in the district next year.

"Within the next three to five years, we're going to be saturated with students. It is something we need to be prepared for, especially in our high school math and science classes, where we've already got problems. When we start adding more students to these classes, we're going to have major problems."

Huck said enrollment in math and science classes has skyrocketed the past eight years. He said the number of sections of science (biology, chemistry, physics, and related advanced subjects) has grown from 23 in 1986-87 to 33 sections for the current school year.

"During the past eight years, enrollment in science areas at the high school has gone from 551 students in 1986-87 to 857 students for the current school year," said Huck. "We've seen similar increases in our high school math classes."

Huck cited several reasons for the rapid increase in science and math enrollments:

-- More colleges and universities now require advanced math and science in their admission requirements;

-- Students realize math and science has a direct bearing on their future careers;

-- Students want to increase their class rank and meet requirements for the College Prep Certificate.

The high school has added two college-level courses to the science curriculum -- Advanced Placement Chemistry and Physiology and Human Anatomy.

"But the most influential reason for this increase (in math and science) is that we have a quality staff doing a great job of teaching science and math under the most adverse conditions," Huck added.

Ed Sebaugh, advanced physics teacher and chairman of the science department, has taught 31 years at Jackson High School. Like Rees, Sebaugh struggles each day to provide a quality education to his physics students in an overcrowded combination lecture-lab room that was built in 1921.

Because of a lack of space, "Mr. Ed" (as his students call him with a great deal of respect) must illustrate his physics problems on the top half of a portable chalkboard because the lower half extends below the lecture desk, out of sight of most of his students. The students sit at lab stations because there are no desks in the room.

For larger problems that will not fit on the small chalkboard, Sebaugh uses an overhead projector and screen.

"Until a few years ago, I could lecture at one end of the room, and then use the lab at the other end. Now I have to lecture and conduct the lab work in the same room," said Sebaugh. "It makes it very difficult because the room is small, there are no tables, just to the tops of the lab stations for students to take notes."

Rees' chemistry lab is actually the one end of what was a larger physics lecture room and laboratory. The room was divided some time ago to create an additional 20-by-25-foot room for a smaller chemistry lab.

Rees, a graduate of Jackson High School, began teaching chemistry at Jackson nine years ago, with an average class size of 20 students. Today, her chemistry classes have anywhere from 25 to 27 students.

Because the physics-chemistry lab is in constant use, Rees must make special arrangements for students to make up any missed lab time due to sickness, sports or other absence. It also means she has no room to prepare for her classwork or grade papers.

Huck said there are now eight chemistry sections. He said, "When we have two classes meeting at the same time of the day, we have only one possible lab. That means teachers have to make extra plans by not being able to keep lab classes on the same day. One class is always a day or two ahead or behind the other classes. With additional enrollment, this will become a greater problem."

Despite the frustrations, Rees still manages to teach chemistry, and says she enjoys it very much. Said Rees, "I love what I do. I love my students, and Mr. Sebaugh is such a pleasure to work with. But we could all do a much better job in preparing our students if we had adequate facilities and tools to do the work."

Huck said the lack of storage space also means expensive, delicate lab equipment -- some costing between $2,500 to $3,000 each -- must set out in the open on cabinets. There is also no room for proper storage of chemicals.

"We have an excellent school system, with the very best science and math teachers. We need to provide facilities for them to teach in that are the very best," said board member McDowell. "For our students to go on to college and do well in science and math, we need science and math facilities that will enable our teachers to excel in what they do now.

"I would hate to see the day when Mr. Huck comes to the school board and says he can no longer take any more students in math and science."

Board President Hanschen agreed, adding that math and science are the building blocks to higher education.