Hillsborough High details math placement, summer honors and appeals process for incoming freshmen

Casey Atolla, Hillsborough’s mathematics supervisor, told families the high school will place incoming freshmen into math courses based on multiple criteria and will offer limited summer acceleration for eligible students.

“At this particular group of students who are gonna be freshmen next year, the high school mathematics placement… we look at common assessments, quarterly assessments, teacher recommendation, benchmark assessments,” Atolla said, summarizing the district’s multi‑factor placement review. He listed freshman course options including Algebra I (CP), Geometry (CP or Honors) and Algebra II (CP or Honors), with additional pathways to Algebra II/Trigonometry, Precalculus and AP Calculus for later grades.

Atolla said summer honors offerings (geometry honors and Algebra II/Trig honors) will be available by invitation to students who meet eligibility criteria and cautioned that Algebra I cannot be taken over the summer or as an online option; accelerated courses must be completed at Hillsborough to count toward placement and credit. He described an appeals process that families may use after placements are posted and said the district will provide more details and dates when finalized.

The supervisor directed families to the district website’s curriculum and instruction pages for course sequences, placement slides and frequently asked questions, and encouraged parents to contact him by email with questions about qualifying for accelerated or honors coursework.