Northshore School District
Challenge Program At Risk
The
Northshore School District’s Junior High Challenge Program is a self-select
honors program in which students elect to work at a faster pace and are
challenged with in-depth material. The district is planning to remove this
highly regarded program despite almost 1000 signatures of support on the Save
Our Challenge petition.
Petition
organizers are sponsoring an information night titled “Why Elementary Parents
Should Care about Saving the Challenge Program” at Kenmore Public Library on
October 22nd at 7 p.m. Concerned parents and community members are encouraged
to attend.
Currently,
NSD junior high students can self-select one or more Challenge classes by
simply checking a box upon enrollment. The self-select nature of Challenge
allows highly- motivated students from a wide variety of academic and
socio-economic backgrounds access to rigorous classes that will prepare them
for advanced AP and IB courses in high school. The self-select Challenge
Program is about giving kids choices that set them up for
success. Eliminating this program would do an immense disservice to the full
range of students in our schools. Because any student can choose to take
advantage of the Challenge program, it is a model of equity and fairness.
The
District’s Middle School Grade Reconfiguration Task Force (MSGRT) and its
Academic Subcommittee are currently deciding the fate of the Challenge program.
Surprisingly, the district has given the Task Force only one model --
a heterogeneous classroom model -- to consider for how the middle school
classrooms should be managed starting in 2017. Given this, one might ask if
this is truly an effective task force, or if the district has already made up
its mind? In the heterogeneous classroom model, teachers would be required to
differentiate instruction and homework for each individual child, from
struggling learners to the highly capable in the same classroom – that could
mean differentiation for 100 or more students each day.
Additionally,
there is the cost to consider. Isn't our district already underfunded? James R.
Delisle, in his article Differentiation Doesn’t Work, states “In every
case, differentiated instruction seemed to complicate teachers work, requiring
them to procure and assemble multiple sets of materials.” Consider the costly
professional development required to train teachers on the heterogeneous model,
including the purchase of new curriculum, the cross-disciplinary collaboration
time required, and the extra help needed in every classroom to teach many
levels of learners. The heterogeneous model would cost a tremendous amount of
time and money to implement, with (at best) dubious results for kids and
teachers.
Although
the Northshore community has much to say on this subject, the Academic
Subcommittee has not asked students or parents if the current Challenge Program
model needs to be changed. The Task Force has been meeting for more than two
years, but during this time they have asked for no community input at all
outside of the three parents who are serving on the subcommittee. The
subcommittee has not even discussed the Save Our Challenge petition, which
now has nearly 1000 signatures, nor have they read the multitude of public
comments in support of the Challenge program. With a deadline to give a
recommendation to the Task Force approaching in December, the Subcommittee has
admitted that they now have no time to ask for community input. In addition,
the Task Force declined to have their meetings recorded for public access, and
the Subcommittee’s meeting notes do not appear on the district’s website. In
effect, they have made it nearly impossible for the community to participate in
this decision.
But
there is still time to Save the Challenge program. The Academic Subcommittee
owes a decision to the Middle School Task Force by Dec 8, 2015. The Task Force
will then forward their recommendation to the school board by mid January.
Ultimately, the school board will make the final decision on this issue, so
this is where we must focus our efforts to be heard.
Community
members, especially students who have participated in the Challenge program,
are encouraged to show support by contacting the Northshore School Board,
attending meetings, and signing the Save Our Challenge petition at https://www.change.org/p/northshore-school-district-save-our-challenge
The
next School Board meetings will be held at 4pm on Oct 13th , 7pm Oct 27th and 4pm on November 10th. Please join us there. Together we can make a difference
and Save Our Challenge Program!
*Save Our Challenge is a
group of concerned parents of NSD students.
No comments:
Post a Comment