For many Palo Alto High School students working through the school’s on-campus advanced math program, AP Calculus BC has been the end of the road.
But beginning in the 2026-27 school year, qualified students will have the opportunity to continue their math pathway through the Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra course, which will be held on-campus and during the school day — although these courses will receive Foothill College credit and not officially be part of Paly’s catalog.
According to Paly math teacher Daniel Nguyen, who is set to teach the class next school year, 31 Paly students and 33 Gunn students had expressed interest in taking the multivariable calculus course as of May 20.
Although the multivariable calculus course will be taught at Paly, the Foothill College designation means AP Calculus BC officially remains Paly’s highest-level math course.
According to sophomore Krittika Chandra, she is excited to join the class next year.
“I’m really excited for the class because I think Calculus BC was the most exciting math class so far,” Chandra said. “I’m really interested in seeing how we can expand the topics in Calculus BC to be across multiple variables.”
Junior Clara Manolache said that she is not surprised at the student demand for MVC because of its practical uses for later in life.
“I don’t think it’s any surprise that so many kids want to take MVC,” Manolache said. “MVC is an important class for so many majors. Even though we can take this class when we get to college, people at Paly do a lot of STEM extracurriculars, many of which would be easier with MVC. It isn’t just something kids can use in college and in their careers. My friends in MVC are using this math now.”
Sophomore Beinan Ren said that he thinks that MVC will be beneficial for students going into STEM majors in college.
“I think MVC has a lot of usefulness in college if I want to go into an engineering major or something STEM-related,” Ren said. “It’s also probably a really good math class with good curriculum design, and it’s an extension after taking Calculus BC.”
According to Nguyen, he enrolled in a master’s degree program in March 2025 to prepare for the course.
“I finished it last month, and the degree will be conferred in a week or two,” Nguyen said. “The courses were asynchronous, so I could work on weekends. If anything, I think it enhanced my ability to teach this year.”
According to sophomore Isaac Wong, MVC will add an unnecessary level of competition to students’ lives, but it is much less so than if the class were offered as an official Paly course.
“I don’t like MVC because I think it increases competition for college applications and adds a toxic culture to academics at Paly,” Wong said.
Nguyen said that although MVC is not officially a PAUSD class, it would not fall into the dual enrollment category and a grade boost would not be provided for taking the course. Instead, it would appear on students’ Foothill transcripts or, without a grade, on their PAUSD transcript.
“The Multivariable Calculus class, as I understand it, will not be that type of dual enrollment, in that it will not be a PAUSD class,” Nguyen said. “It’ll be on our campuses, during our school day, follow our calendar, follow our schedules, but it’s not officially a PAUSD class.”
PAUSD still allows students to add non-district classes to their high school transcript for non-grade credit.
Students were made aware of the new course in an email sent by Principal Brent Kline in April to all students notifying them of the addition to the on-campus course offerings.
“As we look forward to the 2026-27 school year, PAUSD, in partnership with Foothill Community College is moving forward with an opportunity for students to take Math 1C / 1D / 2B (Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra) on our high school campuses during the traditional school day,” Kline stated in the email.
The Intro to Proofs Honors course, which was set to be taught in place of Multivariable Calculus, was cancelled due to a lack of student interest.
