It’s the first day of school. Students show up ready for a new year, anxious, but excited. Herds of backpacks move through the hallways while individuals break off, tumbling into their classrooms. They look up to the projector, see their seat assignment, and start to get settled. All eyes turn to Julian Jiang, a 6th grader sitting among the sophomores and juniors.

Jiang is taking both Honors Chemistry and Integrated Math 2 at PHS, using a special schedule that allows him to fit both his middle and high school courses.

“I wanted to take advanced, high school courses because 6th grade math and science would have been too easy,” Jiang said. “I talked to the counselors and they were able to work out my schedule.”

Jiang’s age and maturity have not affected his performance in class, science teacher John Savage said.

“The first day, it was a surprise to see a 6th grader because I wasn’t given a heads up,” Savage said. “He’s one of my brighter students. He’s inquisitive, he asks questions before class; he’s just like any other kid in my class.”

Savage said he thinks Jiang’s decision was the right one for him, but he wouldn’t recommend this course of action for everyone.

“I think it is dependent upon the kid, and that’s a typical thing to say, but obviously every kid can accelerate at their own rate,” Savage said. “Every now and then I have a senior in my Honors Chemistry class, and they often do quite well. It just depends on the academic ability of the student.”

While Jiang is the only non-high schooler in his Honors Chemistry class, 8th graders Jonas Kra-Caskey and Alexander Zalewski are in Integrated Math 2 with him, math teacher Arthur Hogenauer said.

“These kids are pretty advanced and take time outside of class to do additional math work,” Hogenauer said.

Hogenauer said that although it is not their fault or intention, their presence has changed the dynamic of the class.

“I do see some of the high school students feel less confident about their math skills,” Hogenauer said. “However, I don’t think they should because [Jiang, Kra-Caskey, and Zalewski] have put in so much effort and work outside of school to get to where they are now.”

Jiang said that he has not had much trouble with transitioning although this year he transitioned into both middle and high school.

“I sometimes miss parts of classes at PMS, but other than that time management is probably the hardest part,” Jiang said.

Jiang said that along with the occasional overlap in his middle and high school classes, he gets annoyed when other students bother him about taking such advanced courses.

“There are times when [other middle schoolers] keep asking if it’s true that I’m in classes with high schoolers which is pretty annoying,” Jiang said. “But most of the kids in my high school classes are very nice and welcoming to me.”