Math teacher Steve Cochran will be taking a leave of absence until the end of the semester due to a leg injury that occurred on Sunday, October 7. As of press deadline, no permanent substitute had taken over his classes, three sections of Alternative Pathways Geometry and two sections of trigonometry.

In the meantime, other math teachers are available to help students adjust to the change.

“There should be no change in the curriculum, just a long-term substitute for me,” Cochran said. “We have other people in the Math Department helping out with curriculum, such as Bob Randall, Julie Hsieh and Justin Sligh.”

However, some students are having a hard time adjusting to the irregular, indefinite agenda. They are also concerned about how effectively the curriculum will be taught over the next few months.

“The subs are trying, but it’s hard for them to adapt to our long-term needs,” junior Natalya Copeland said. “We have not learned trig in a month.”

Cochran dislocated the ankle and broke the tibia and the fibula, one of them horizontally and the other vertically.

According to Cochran, he was immediately taken to the hospital due to the severity of his injury, which required reconstruction of his ankle and lower leg involving plates and screws to hold his leg together. His leg cannot sustain weight until the pins are removed in December.

His full recovery is expected by September of 2008, but he will resume teaching at the beginning of second semester.