Eighth Grader Enrolled in High School Classes

Written by Sam Holloway

Bhavish Dinakar began to pack up his things. He opened his binder, slipping his pencil into a small pocket instinctively. His notebook went in a marked pocket of a built-in expandifile and any loose paper was put neatly in a folder. The binder was zipped up and although the bell to end second hour wouldn’t ring for 10 more minutes, Bhavish and the two other shortest kids in the class got up and left.

They had a bus to catch.

The bus would take them to Indian Hills Middle School, where they finish their day with the rest of their grade level.

Bhavish is one of the few eighth graders who take high school classes at East every morning. However, while most of his peers have only skipped ahead a grade level in Math, Bhavish is enrolled in tenth grade Math and is also in ninth grade Biology. Only two other eighth graders have opted for this schedule this year.

“I wanted to do more in school,” Bhavish said. “So I took the tests to get out of some classes.”

Despite his rigorous schedule, Bhavish maintains a high A in all of his classes, and continued to teach himself things on the side.

“I want to learn about programming,” Bhavish said, “so I bought a Java textbook for myself.”

Waking up early after a late night of self-imposed homework seems not to bother the eighth grader, however. He arrives at East cheerfully each morning, joking around with friends with his homework out and ready before the bell rings.

“I wish I could sleep in a little more,” Bhavish said one morning. “But it’s a small price to pay.”