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Scientific or graphing calculator? What calculator should students purchase?

As your kids grow older, that school supply list may get shorter, but it's not always cheaper.

One item that could trigger sticker shock to parents of middle and high school students is a specially designed calculator. Many schools prefer if students possess their own hand-held scientific calculator. In the highest level math courses, such as Advanced Calculus A graphing calculator may be required.

But, what's the real difference? Scientific calculators can do things beyond subtraction, addition, division and multiplication. Scientific calculators typically have buttons specifically designed for parentheses, trigonometric functions, exponents inverses and pi -- among other things.

A graphing calculator does even more. It'll have a larger screen that allows you to type in a function, then display a graph of it.

The Best buy's Geek Squad agent Derek Meister states that scientific calculatorscan run from $10 to $60. Graphing calculators typically cost higher, with prices ranging between $80 to $150.Should the students returning to school buy science or graphing calculators? (KOMO News)

However, Best Buy says you aren't required to purchase one. Best Buy suggests talking to your school first.

Harmony Weinberg, Edmonds School District's public relations and media supervisor She tells KOMO News each individual school decides on its own rules.

"For higher level classes, like AP Calculus, it is often expected that students have a handheld graphing calculator, such as TI-83, TI-84 or TI-89."

These kinds of calculators are great for AP tests. Weinberg is also of the opinion that schools have a system that allows students to use calculators in the same way as they would texts if they are unable to or prefer not to purchase their own.

The Edmonds School district, calculators are handled similarly to textbooks, with regard to the possibility of damage or loss, but don't have any fees to use.

Another possibility could exist in the laptops that schools provide. Weinberg states that in Edmonds "all students have access to scientific and graphing calculators through their district-issued Chromebook." The district is also encouraging teachers to use Desmos online calculators because they are used on state assessments as well.

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West Seattle family says school policies on quarantine are biased against those who have not been vaccinated

from Joel Moreno, KOMO News reporterSaturday on September 18th, 2021.

src="https://komonews.com/resources/media2/16x9/full/1015/center/80/8521f8f9-6f3e-4b85-96b3-57a43d8bc7cf-large16x9_thumb_59632.png"/>https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.485.1_en.html#goog_1206168445Volume 90% Denny International Middle School.

SEATTLE A family from West Seattle say their young son was instructed to stay at home after the boy came in contact with an individual who was positive for COVID-19. The incident prompted family members to claim that he was targeted and different treatment by school district officials since the boy has not been vaccinated..

This week, a 12-year-old student who is a student at Denny International Middle School was exposed to a student in class who was diagnosed with COVID-19.

School officials advised him to stay home for two weeks due to the fact that the vaccine he received was not up to date.

The family members of the victim have learned that if he had been vaccinated, the seventh grade student would not be forced to miss class for as long as he didn't show signs of the disease.

"My kid has no symptoms," said Jeremy Gollyhorn, the boy's father. "He's absolutely healthy. Why is it that he doesn't get an unfavorable COVID test and go back to class?"

Gollyhorn told reporters that his son was being treated differently than other students who've received their shots. Even if he showed a negative COVID-19 result, the child isn't allowed to go back to school until the quarantine period of two weeks has ended.

However, close contacts who are fully vaccinated with no signs of illness do not have to quarantine and can return to school, but they should be tested every three to five days to confirm.

Gollyhorn claimed that it does not make sense.

"Vaccinated people can still spread COVID too so what's the difference there?" he declared.

A spokesperson for the school said Seattle Public Schools is following the public health guidelines established for the school by the state.

Gollyhorn has said that the policy deprives people of their choices. He added that his family does not trust vaccines and such situations will make him want fight back.

In the year since Seattle Public Schools started the school year on September. 1, the district has reported 117 positive COVID-19 cases while Denny International Middle School has confirmed four cases of COVID-19 in that time.

It's not clear how many staff and students were told to remain in quarantine because of exposures. However, those absences are considered to be excused.