Due in large part to an exceptional effort on the part of five high school boys, Calculus is being offered as an elective to seniors for the 2009-10 school year.  This is the first time in the history of Christian Life School that an advanced math class of this caliber has been offered.

In the spring of '08, sophomores Noah Larson, Luke Spangrud, Paul Brunner, Youn Ku Choi, and Scott Neubauer determined to take charge of their future.  Having an intense interest and talent for mathematics, they petitioned Administrator Darin Kindle to allow them to take Algebra II during the summer.  In so doing, they would be qualified to take Pre-calculus as Juniors and then Calculus as Seniors, thus preparing them more adequately for college math courses.

Their petition was granted and Miss Heather Meyen agreed to teach the class over the summer.  Parents, teachers, and Pastor Kindle watched in amazement as these five boys pushed themselves to complete a year's worth of class work in just 10 weeks.  "It was tough.  We even had tears at times," recalls one parent with tears in her own eyes.  "But they did it, and we're so proud."

With the start of the 2009-10 school year, those five boys, now seniors, will be the first CLS students to take the newly offered Calculus class.  The class will continue to be offered in future years, on an as needed basis, to accommodate student math needs.  With new state mandates for math curriculum to be implemented over the next couple of years, it is expected the Calculus class will eventually become a standard class for seniors as part of the college preparatory curriculum.