The District 219 Board of Education took action on the proposed curriculum changes outlined in their Annual Review of Programs (ARP) at their Dec. 12 meeting.
Two of the more controversial topics among parents and students alike that were discussed at great length at a town hall meeting at Niles North on Nov. 3 were the reformatting of theater classes and the proposed elimination of honors level English and history classes at the junior level.
The Board did, however, bend to public opinion and tabled the proposal to eliminate honors English and history classes at the junior level until it could be further reviewed in the 2013-2014 ARP.
Senior Warren D’Souza said that he is happy that this decision was postponed, noting that “a change of this breadth could not be completed in a year.” D’Souza, a former student of both classes in question, believes that the Board is “missing touch” with the mentality of honors students. D’Souza points out that many of these students must decide whether they want to challenge themselves in AP courses and argues that it’s unfair to place this burden on a sophomore or junior student when the only alternative to AP is a regular level class. “If they decide on a regular course and realize it is far too easy, transitioning to AP is nearly impossible. If they decide on AP, dropping to regular due to a difficult course is simply demoralizing.”
D’Souza, like many other parents and students who spoke at the Nov. 3 meeting, believes that honors classes have historically been a good fit for those students who fall in between AP and regular courses. Many people have also expressed that honors courses prepare students for a college-ready track and eliminating those classes may decrease the number of students that meet college-ready criteria.
Additional changes being implemented include a new public speaking graduation requirement starting with the class of 2016, and opening consumer education to sophomores in addition to upperclassmen. The actions taken at this meeting conclude the review of programs for this year, though the Board may discuss issues from this review in future annual reviews.
