Honors Statistics will not be offered next year due to a low number of signups. Math teacher Doyle O’Regan has been teaching Honors Statistics ever since it was introduced to the school seven years ago.

“Around 19 people were in the preliminary signup stage, and that’s before people drop due to scheduling conflicts,” O’Regan said. “Once I saw the number of signups, I knew that the class was probably not going to be offered next year.”

The school allocates six full-time equivalent teachers to the math department, equating to around 30 classes each year, O’Regan said.

“Supporting a class under a certain threshold around 19 becomes financially unfeasible, which is why Honors Statistics is not being offered next year,” O’Regan said.

O’Regan said that he is disappointed the class is not being offered next year.

“I knew some kids who wanted to take the class and definitely would have gotten a lot out of it,” O’Regan said.

O’Regan believes that the low amount of signups may have resulted from students not wanting to overload themselves with an extra Honors level class.

“Word probably got out that there’s a lot of work in this class, and students planned their schedule accordingly,” O’Regan said.

O’Regan also said that Honors Statistics is a hard class to get through, but also rewarding.

“I have pretty high expectations and standards on what students should do in an Honors class,” O’Regan said. “But students ultimately benefit from struggling through and learning new ideas.”

Junior JJ Zhu said that he wanted to take the Honors Statistics class next year, and was sad about it not being offered.

“It is a very important and solid class like Calculus, and not just a regular math class,” Zhu said. “However, I understand the situation and the fact that the class cannot be supported financially, so I have no choice but to take regular Statistics.”

Junior Carson Armstrong also said that the he is disappointed that Honors Statistics is not being offered next year, and instead signed up  to take the regular class.

“The lack of student interest in Honors Statistics, and its subsequent removal will forever remain an unfortunate occurrence in PHS history,” Armstrong said. “However, I believe taking normal Statistics will suffice.”

Junior Minhong Yang, who is currently taking Honors Statistics, also said that it is unfortunate the class is not being offered next year.

“I think the class is wonderful and interesting,” Yang said. “It was hard but also academically fulfilling in the end.”

Senior Erica Peterson agrees that though the class is challenging, it is  also enjoyable because of O’Regan.

“O’Regan is a great and funny teacher,” Peterson said.

Erica Peterson said that the absence of Honors Statistics next year is a little dissapointing.

“The class is hard,” Peterson said. “I feel like having an AP Statistics class instead of Honors would be more appropriate.”