Mr. Eric Hendrickson, our charismatic and influential math teacher at Ridgecrest Intermediate School (RIS), is reluctantly stepping down as Coach of Ridgecrest's Math Club for the 2025-26 School Year due to increased teaching demands.

This is such a huge loss for Ridgecrest Intermediate School! Over the past 28 years, Mr. Hendrickson has led the Ridgecrest Intermediate School's Math Club Team to numerous victories, including Regional, State, and National Competitions. One of the most prestigious competitions led by Mr. Hendrickson is MATHCOUNTS, which has sparked many successful STEM careers, including that of famous A.I. CEOs today, such as Meta AI's Chief Officer Alexandr Wang and Cognition AI's CEO Scott Wu. https://youtube.com/shorts/j2AwScMSrRA?si=dfL7oOXlsIRKpKG6

Like any successful sports coach, Mr. Hendrickson meticulously drilled, mentored, and trained hundreds of mathletes over the years for these prestigious math competitions. His expertise in coaching Math Club is equivalent to that of the most seasoned football or basketball coach! Without Mr. Hendrickson's experience & well-perfected repertoire, the Ridgecrest Math Team would certainly not have achieved the successes they've had.

Most recently, the Ridgecrest Intermediate School's Mathcounts Team have advanced to State Finals for multiple consecutive years, including 2023, 2024, and 2025, all thanks to Mr. Hendrickson's meticulous leadership and coaching. (https://cspeef.org/competitions/south-bay-santa-monica/) Losing Mr. Hendrickson as Math Club coach would mean Ridgecrest Intermediate School's loss of a brilliant mentor and of its reputation of being a powerhouse Math Team!

While other PVPUSD Middle Schools, PVIS and Miraleste, both also have excellent math coaches and get to maintain their robust Math Clubs, the PVPUSD's Ridgecrest Middle School's Math Club will be coming to an end for the 2025-26 School Year if no action is taken now. It is such a shame that a middle school known for high academic performance in an affluent community will now be without a competitive Math Club, one that launches many students' future career into STEM. Our children's future mathletic and STEM career is at stake here. Please sign the petition now to keep Mr. Eric Hendrickson as the Coach for Ridgecrest Intermediate School's Math Club! 

We are petitioning for a way to offset Mr. Hendrickson's teaching overload so that he can continue coaching Math Club. 

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Please sign today! Feel free to forward to your family, friends, and colleagues for additional support.

~Chris Lx, a concerned Ridgecrest Intermediate School Parent