Students, parents and teachers press Ithaca district to restore AP Calculus BC seats

Lian Zhu, a parent of a rising Ithaca High School sophomore, told the Facilities and Finance committee that "AP Calculus BC is reduced to 1 class section" and that many students who planned for the course will be denied enrollment this fall. Zhu said guardians learned the change informally and called the lack of official notice a transparency and equity failure.

The concern was echoed by several students and parents. "This issue runs very deep for our class," said Cornelia Yee, an Ithaca High junior, who urged the district to "restore the second section of AP Calculus BC" so upperclassmen and underclassmen can continue in sequence without creating a lottery that leaves some students behind. Parent Nina Cohn said she and other families learned of the reduction informally and called the change "not excellence. That's not equity." Ninth grader Oren Bilder said losing the opportunity would "be missing an important part of my identity" and asked to be allowed to take calculus as planned.

District staff responded during committee discussion. Dr. Brown, speaking as district administration, said master scheduling and counselor adjustments occur in late summer and described this as "a logistical issue," not one the committee has seen documented as a financial constraint. Dr. Brown said counselors received schedules recently and that the district is working to resolve conflicts, but added that some families will face tough choices when course enrollments overlap. She also noted a longstanding threshold that historically has limited offerings "when we do not have a class that will have at least 15 students".

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dan Bridal and other administrators asked for patience while counselors and building staff finalize enrollment and seating, and invited families to call district staff with scheduling questions. Bridal said the district would review options "including some innovative approaches" if a student cannot fit a required course into their schedule.

Why it matters: Students, families and educators described the change as a disruption to expected course progression and to equity in access for accelerated learners. Affected students said the reduction could delay or block subsequent science and math courses that list calculus as a pre- or co-requisite.

What the committee asked staff to do: Committee members thanked commenters and requested follow-up. Administration agreed to continue resolving schedule conflicts, to provide clearer communications about the enrollment process and to explain decisions where seats are limited. The committee did not adopt a formal motion altering enrollment policy during the meeting.

Provenance: This article summarizes public comments and staff responses recorded during the public-comment portion and committee response (public-comment start: 00:02:09; committee reply: 00:26:08).