Math Department Class Descriptions »
Math Department Faculty Biographies »
When Arts High students delve deeply into mathematics, they gain not only conceptual understanding of mathematical principles but also knowledge of and experience with pure reasoning. One of the most important goals of the mathematics department is to teach students logical reasoning. The logical reasoning inherent in the study of mathematics allows for applications to a broad range of situations in which answers to practical problems can be found with accuracy.
By high school, students’ mathematical sensitivity should be sharpened. Students start perceiving logical subtleties and appreciate the need for sound mathematical arguments before making conclusions. As students progress in the study of mathematics at Arts High, they learn to distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning; understand the meaning of logical implication; test general assertions; realize that one counterexample is enough to show that a general assertion is false; understand conceptually that although a general assertion is true in a few cases, it is not true in all cases; distinguish between something being proven and a mere plausibility argument and identify logical errors in chains of reasoning. Mathematical reasoning and conceptual understanding will not be separate from content; they are intrinsic to the mathematical discipline students may study at more advanced levels.
Nick Abruzzo
Math Department Co-Chair
Dallas Russell
Math Department Co-Chair
| Mathematic Courses | Instructors |
| Algebra I AB and BC Algebra II Honors Algebra II AP Calculus Geometry Math Intervention Math Analysis/Trigonometry |
Mrs. Brooks Mr. Russell Mr. Russell Mr. Abruzzo Mr. Abruzzo, Mrs. Brooks Mr. Abruzzo, Mrs. Brooks Mr. Russell, Mr. Abruzzo |
Math Course Descriptions
Algebra I
Grades 9 - 12
Graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: None
Algebra I is based on the California Content Standards for grades 8-12. This course covers the fundamental properties of the real number system. Topics include algebraic expressions, exponents, linear equations and inequalities, functions and function notation, graphs of linear and quadratic functions, radical equations, ratio and proportion and the quadratic formula.
Geometry
Grades 9 - 12
Meets graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: Algebra I
Geometry is based on the California Content Standards. Geometry is the study of points, lines and areas in a single plane, and includes some extension into three-dimensional space. Emphasis is also placed on creating a consistent set of axioms and using deductive reasoning to write proofs and derive theorems. Students need to have a strong foundation in algebraic concepts.
Algebra II
Grades 9 - 12
Meets graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: Algebra I and Geometry I
Algebra II is based on the California Content Standards for High School Algebra II. Algebra II complements and expands the mathematical content and concepts of Algebra I and Geometry. Students who master Algebra II gain experience with algebraic solutions of problems in various content areas, including the solution of systems of quadratic equations, logarithmic and exponential functions, the binomial theorem, the complex number system, conic sections, probability, sequences and series and an introduction to trigonometry.
Honors Algebra II A/B
Grades 10 - 12
Meets graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: Algebra I and Geometry I
This rigorous honors-level course is based on the California Content Standards for High School Algebra II, but includes more trigonometry and analytical geometry.
Trigonometry /Math Analysis
Grades 9 - 12
Meets graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: Algebra II
This course is based on the California Content Standards and prepares the student for calculus. Topics covered include: an in-depth study of all elementary functions, inverse functions, conic sections, matrices and determinants, higher degree polynomial functions, logarithmic and exponential functions, sequences and series, math induction and trigonometry. Students who pass the trigonometry portion of the course in the first semester with a “C” or better receive college credit from California State University, Los Angeles.
AP Calculus A/B
Grades 10 - 12
Meets graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: Math Analysis/Trigonometry A/B
This course is based on the California Content Standards and is an advanced college-level course that prepares students for the AP Calculus AB exam and covers the beginning of calculus. It includes the study of functions, limits, continuity and differentiation rules for elementary, trigonometry, logarithmic and exponential functions. Applications of the derivative are covered extensively and an introduction to the definite integral and integration are also included. This course emphasizes a multi-representational approach to calculus, with concepts, results and problems being expressed graphically, numerically, analytically and verbally. The connections between these representations also are important.
AP Calculus B/C
Grades 10 - 12
Meets graduation requirement • Length of course: 1 year
Prerequisite: Calculus A/B
This course is based on the California Content Standards and is an advanced college-level course that prepares students for the AP Calculus BC exam. This course includes a thorough study of integral calculus, covering a variety of integration techniques and many different applications of the definite integral, such as area and volume. Other topics of study include convergence and divergence of infinite series, Taylor polynomials, power series, parametric and polar functions and the calculus of vectors.
Mathematics Faculty Biographies
Nick D. Abruzzo, Co-Chair
Mr. Abruzzo has been a member of High School for the Arts’ mathematics faculty since 2000, teaching Euclidean Geometry, Elementary & Intermediate Algebra, CSLA MATH 103 Trigonometry, Mathematical Analysis, AP Calculus A/B/C, Mythology, Acting for non-majors, having previously taught a state-subsidized math preparation course for the Scholastic Aptitude Test at Hollywood High School and Marshall High School. He has curriculum on file at the Getty Center Education Division linking mathematics and art through George Seurat’s La Parade de Cirque and has written curriculum for Arts High’s pilot course “New Genres-Geometry”, underwritten by the Keck Foundation and co-taught by Japanese American National Museum resident artist Clement Hanami; he is a mathematics representative on the PreK-12 Curriculum Committee for the Los Angeles County Office of Education and a math judge for the Los Angeles County Science & Engineering Fair. During summers, Mr. Abruzzo has taught Euclidean Geometry for the Jaime Escalante Accelerated Math & Science Program at East Los Angeles College. His students have been awarded honors from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (Benjamin Banneker Award) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (NEST Award). Mr. Abruzzo hails from Los Angeles, where he attended the Hamilton Academy of Music. Having there studied classical piano, vocal jazz, theatre, musical theatre, and warmed the bench for their conference-winning basketball team, he graduated with honors and their Best Actor and Most Improved German Student awards. He is presently a member of the Mathematical Association of America’s special interest groups in Math & Art and Advanced High School Topics. He holds a Master of Science in teaching mathematics from the University of New Hampshire, Department of Mathematics & Statistics (Dean’s Scholarship) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre performance from the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance (National Society of Arts & Letters Drama Scholarship). In addition to teaching for the high school, he is a sometime stage director and steering committee member for Lincoln Center Theater’s annual Directors Lab West, which is hosted at the Pasadena Playhouse in May and is sponsored by the Society of Stage Directors & Choreographers.
Dallas Russell II, Mathematics Co-Chair
Mr. Russell earned his B.A. degree in Business/Accounting from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and his M.B.A. degree in Finance from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He advanced in the business world as a Sales and Account Representative for DelMonte and became their top salesman during his second year with the firm. He then worked for Kimberly Clark as a Financial Analyst, until he came to California in 1981. He earned his teaching credential in Mathematics from Cal. State-Dominguez Hills and his Masters of Arts in Education from Cal. State-L.A. He then taught with LAUSD and became a colleague and good friend of Jaime Escalante while teaching at Griffith Junior High, Garfield High School, and East Los Angeles College. In 1994, Mr. Russell was awarded the Metro Los Angeles Mathematics Teacher of the Year Award in recognition of excellence, effectiveness, and innovation. Mr. Russell came to Arts High in 1994. In 2005, was honored to be named the Good Will Ambassador by the Network of Educators in Science and Technology (NEST) and an MIT NEST Fellow. Mr. Russell retursn to MIT each summer to participate in conferences and activities designed to keep educators at the pinnacle of excellence.
Mrs. Brooks
Ms. Brooks joins the Los Angeles County High School For The Arts’ mathematics department teaching Algebra I and Geometry for the 2008-2009 school year with a wealth of varied experience. Ms. Brooks has been part of Los Angeles Unified School District for most of her life. She began her educational career in 2001 as an Algebra and 7th grade math instructor at Los Angeles Academy Middle School where she headed the GATE program, as well as serving as department chairperson.
She then came to Thomas Starr King Middle School where she continued her work in honors programs and was instrumental in facilitating IMPACT at the school. She quickly moved on to be King’s notably pro-active math coach establishing a math lab and instituting numerous progressive methods of teaching math that incorporate both technology and manipulatives focusing on helping all levels of students to attain mathematics concepts. Ms. Brooks is known—among her peers and the student body—for her support of the math department and her accessibility to all pupils.
“It is my fundamental belief that people learn best by doing,” says Ms. Brooks. “Therefore, I strive to provide a student centered, hands-on, project-based learning environment that embraces different learning styles and is based on cooperative models of learning that nurtures each student’s individuality.”
Ms. Brooks herself is a product of LAUSD. A fourth generation Angeleno, she attended Fairfax High School graduating with an emphasis in Fine Art. She studied for her Bachelor’s in Science in Business Administration with an emphasis on International Business and Finance at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she graduated with honors: Magna Cum Laude, Beta Gamma Sigma, Golden Key National Honor Society, and Order of Omega. She has both teaching, administrative credentials and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from California State University, Los Angeles.
Prior to her career in education, Ms. Brooks spent a significant amount of time working in the music business at Triple X Records. She joined the company as an intern during her high school years and moved up to becoming their general manager and director of business affairs. She also had a stint working in post-production at LaserPacific Media Corporation.
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