Math class difficulty increases exponentially in Virginia.

How do you teach students who have run out of math courses? That's what educators in Fairfax County (Va.) Public Schools have been pondering.

The "issue" first surfaced in the mid-'80s when a handful of students started algebra a year early and finished AP calculus in their junior year. Since an American University professor had videotaped a multivariable calculus/matrix algebra course, the students watched the tapes and had their papers and tests graded by professors at George Mason University. "It was pretty informal since there were so few kids," says Frank Atchison, K-12 math coordinator for FCPS. "But we had to offer something to keep these kids going. Math was their passion."

By 2002, 160 students from FCPS' 25 high schools were ready for the advanced-level course. The district switched to a distance-learning model to accommodate the increasing amount of students, and although this method has been an improvement, it hasn't been ideal. "Only 45 percent of the students eligible have taken it," says Atchison. "Other students chose AP computer science or statistics instead. We think it's because there's no face-to-face instruction."

To keep the math-savvy students from veering off track, Atchison's team partnered with George Mason University and came up with a plan. Starting last month, FCPS is paying for 20 of its math teachers to take courses at George Mason. By next spring, they'll have completed four courses and will teach multivariable calculus/matrix algebra. The district will open 12 sections of the class in 12 different schools and has promised financial support to hire part-time instructors to teach the courses these teachers will give up. "The county has been terrific in helping us," says Atchison.

Cathy L. Seeley, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, says that a few districts are working with local universities to offer different options and applauds the fact that, in this era of math-teacher shortages, this district has found a new way to address that. "It's a challenge to find qualified teachers and adequate district support and it sounds like this district has both."