Swaraj Salvi makes the trip from his house to Blue Valley Northwest High School three times a week for Honors Geometry at only nine years old. Salvi is in fifth grade at Heartland Elementary School and has been doing advanced math since first grade. Zai Salvi, Salvi’s mom, said she noticed his acceleration from a young age.

“When he was young, like one or two, we actually started noticing the signs of [him being] a little bit beyond [academically] compared to his peers,” Zai said.

At ages four and five, Zai said Salvi played more complicated games like Monopoly and Catan, while most kids his age were just learning their ABCs. In addition to understanding complex games at a young age, Zai said Salvi has been going to other grades for math since he was in early elementary school.

“During first grade, he got the opportunity to accelerate, [and he] used to go to third-grade math,” Zai said. 

Last year, Salvi was doing seventh or eighth-grade math, according to Zai. In the future, Zai said they are considering college-level classes or JCCC dual credit classes, but said it is ultimately up to him. 

“We are still figuring it out, but I know the best part is he loves what he does, and he feels he would like to be challenged more,” Zai said. “As a parent, we are always there to support him and provide him [with] whatever he needs.”

Similar to Zai, Salvi’s Honors Geometry teacher Katherine Lamp also said she hopes Salvi continues his passion for math. According to Lamp, Salvi has been doing very well in class.

“He’s excited to explore more math [and] just comes ready to learn every day,” Lamp said.

Lamp said when she first learned there was going to be an elementary schooler in her already diverse class, she was initially shocked, but then excited.

“There’s a lot of diversity in the class. We have [Salvi] from elementary school, students from the middle school and students in high school, so it’s interesting seeing how they’re all different and [how they all] learn and interact with the math,” Lamp said.

Despite the age difference between some of the students, Lamp said Salvi has been getting along well with his classmates. Salvi agreed as he said he is enjoying high school math a lot. He feels good about his teacher and said his classmates are friendly. Salvi also said he wants to keep learning more math and wants even more of a challenge. 

Zai said she is grateful to the Blue Valley school district, especially Northwest, for the opportunity Salvi gets. She said she is very appreciative of all of the support and encouragement Salvi has gotten from the district and the staff. She also said she’s really proud of him for all he has accomplished and will continue to do. 

“We are proud of him, but yes, we are also anxious as parents [about] what’s next for him, [but] for us what is really important is [that] he making lifelong friends, rather than learning way ahead,” Zai said. “At what he can do, I know, given an opportunity today or tomorrow, he’s going to learn. And I’m happy that we got that opportunity here in Blue Valley.”