Math is often a topic of struggle and disdain for many high school students. However, while some students may recoil at the very mention of variables, juniors Zach Deibert, Cody Moose and Elizabeth Seidl have a very strong aptitude for the subject.

Currently, these students are taking AP Calculus BC, a second-year calculus course for students who have already completed AP Calculus AB. However, there aren’t enough students to warrant a completely separate class, so the school has an interesting solution for the juniors.

“The class isn’t exactly taught at DHS, instead it’s taught remotely from Mill Valley and we Skype in,” Moose said. At Mill Valley, the class is taught by Brian Rodkey. There are 11 students from Mill Valley in the class, so between the two schools, there are 14 people taking AP Calculus BC.

DHS alumnus Jaycie Thaemert and Nick Mechler also took the class while still in high school, however, they had to do so as independent studies without a teacher.

“[Jaycie] did the coursework on her own, I was only there to guide her along,” said DHS math teacher Bruce Yarbrough. Yarbrough also hosts Deibert, Moose, and Seidl in his room when they Skype in to Mill Valley.

Since they are only juniors, the three students also have the opportunity to take Calculus 3 next year for concurrent high school and college credit. Unfortunately, that class will be exclusively taught at Johnson County Community College, so the students would be required to drive to JCCC during the day or the evening in order to take the class.

Despite the scheduling challenges, not to mention the extreme difficulty of the class, Moose says that he’s up to the challenge.

“I’m planning on taking Calculus 3 as well as Differential Equations at JCCC,” Moose said. “I will likely have to take an evening class, leaving a hole in my schedule during the day.”

As awareness of the higher level classes increase, it is possible that more students will choose to take the class in the future. If enough students are enrolled, it may also no longer be possible to Skype in for a class.

Whatever the future of the class is at DHS, Deibert, Moose and Seidl are boldly taking on the challenge of a college course in unorthodox environment.