The School Board meeting on May 24th, 2016 at
7pm will be the LAST CHANCE to speak to the School Board and show support for
the Self-Select Challenge Program before they vote.
The Middle School Grade Reconfiguration Task
Force and its Academic Subcommittee have presented the board with 2 options for
the Middle School Academic Model. The two options presented are Option 1 (Mixed Ability Classes for grades 6-8) and
Option 3 (self-select challenge for grades 7 & 8 with mixed ability classes for grade 6):
Do Not Be Fooled or Confused! Option 1 would
result in the REMOVAL of the Self-Select Challenge program!
Out of the 2 choices being considered by the
School Board, Option 3 is the model that would Save Our Challenge Program in
grades 7 and 8. Option 3 was the second choice model of both the Task Force and the community input to Save Our Challenge.
The School Board can choose to Save
Challenge by Voting for Option 3! If
you support the Challenge program, please attend the May 24, 7pm school board
meeting to express your support for challenge and Option 3. We believe the school board
listens to students and will act in the students' best interests. So, please
encourage all students (students who have taken challenge, students who chose
not to take challenge and we're happy to have the choice, and elementary
students who want to have a choice when they are in middle school) to attend
and speak to the school board.
We need to fill the board room with
challenge supporters if we want to keep this valuable, equitable program that gives students CHOICE. Now is the last opportunity for the School Board to hear from the community before their vote on whether or not to keep the Self-Select Challenge program. Now is the time for everyone to speak! May 24, 7pm!
Please browse the Save Our Challenge website
if you would like more information on this.
I've appreciated the students and parents over the last few months who haven't used the phrase "like-minded peers", or other phrases that imply my non-Challenge student(s) is unmotivated or not intellectually curious. I've been saddened by the artificial creation of an us versus them division. As someone who is a "them" and strongly advocates for all of "them", I'm going to suggest one more idea. From my perspective, the teachers who have spoken at the Board meetings have been the clearest voice for a non-divisive, perhaps even the most democratic, choice. Perhaps that is the Challenge I can most support--classrooms that are more diverse in every way than my own life.
ReplyDeleteChanneling Alexander Hamilton,
Denise Need, parent...and hopefully a lot more
I am a mom of a special needs kid, and I do not believe this is about "us vs. them." The real question here is equity vs. equality. Self-select is by far the most equitable model because it offers classes that fit according to interest, level and need as opposed to one-size-fits-all. My daughter struggles to meet standard in writing, but she excels in math. So, I will encourage her to choose Challenge Math and GenEd English in Middle School. If you look at the table on page 7 of the Save Our Challenge proposal (see the tab above), you will see that only 10% of students take all 4 challenge courses. The majority of students who take Challenge courses take just 1 or 2. This means that there are Challenge students in every GenEd classroom. There is no "us vs. them."
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