Educators look past school lines to challenge a young math whiz

Nov. 13, 2026 / By the time Hechan Jang started sixth grade at Shasta Elementary School, he already knew seventh-grade math.

Hechan was ready for more, and his teachers faced an unusual challenge: How do you keep a sixth-grader learning when he's already working well beyond his grade level?

The answer was a few miles away at Brixner Junior High School.

With help from his family and a team of educators and staff across the district, Hechan now travels to Brixner for advanced seventh-grade math while continuing his sixth-grade education at Shasta.

The opportunity began taking shape over the summer when Hechan's parents contacted his talented and gifted teacher, Tonja Midkiff, about finding more challenging coursework for their son.

Midkiff reached out to Shasta Vice Principal Anna Monteil, who began exploring possibilities.

Monteil knew that Brixner students already traveled to Mazama for advanced coursework. Why couldn't a sixth-grader have a similar opportunity?

The idea quickly gained support, but making it happen required coordination across schools and departments.

Monteil worked with Brixner's counselor and vice principal, Hechan's TAG teacher, district transportation staff, and his family to work through scheduling and transportation.

Hechan, who loves math, but admits he sometimes enjoys video games more, said his earlier math classes were easy, but described his current class as challenging.

“Now, (the math) is just hard,” he said as he worked on equations during class this week. “I was nervous the first day, but not anymore.”

Hechan was initially enrolled in a regular seventh-grade math class at Brixner before moving into advanced seventh-grade math a few weeks ago.

Raigan Loney, who teaches the advanced seventh-grade math class at Brixner, said Hechan is nearly two grade levels ahead. In her class, students are learning pre-algebra.

“He is absolutely thriving and doing really well in this class,” she said.

By taking seventh-grade math as a sixth-grader, Hechan could move into eighth-grade math next year and potentially travel to Mazama for ninth-grade math while still an eighth-grader.

For Monteil, the experience demonstrates what can happen when educators look beyond traditional grade levels and school boundaries to meet a student's needs.

"This was an individualized opportunity we developed for Hechan, but I hope it opens the door for more students," Monteil said.

The district already has systems in place for students to access advanced coursework at other schools. Hechan's experience shows how those opportunities can be expanded to meet individual needs.

"Sometimes we get caught up in all the reasons something cannot be done, when really we should be asking ourselves how we can make it happen," Monteil said.

This is a #OneKCSD / One Team / One Student story. LEARN MORE