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Three years after ninth-grade honors courses were eliminated from Sequoia Union High School District classrooms, a discussion on the controversial topic ended with the board taking no action during its meeting on April 22.
The removal of honors and advanced courses, also known as detracking, went into effect in 2023, and has been a heated topic among parents in the school district. It’s intended to boost academic performance and opportunities for less-advantaged teens by encouraging students of all levels to work together in “heterogeneous” classes.
School board member Richard Ginn proposed offering advanced classes consistently across four of the district’s campuses by adding rather than removing offerings. The board opposed his motion 3-2, with Ginn and Sathvik Nori in favor and Amy Koo, Marybeth Thompson and Maria Cruz against.
“The board decision was disappointing but at least the democratic process was upheld with a transparent deliberation and vote,” posted parent group SUHSD Students First on its Instagram page. The group supports reinstating honors and advanced courses for ninth graders.
Currently, Carlmont High School in Belmont is the only campus that offers advanced English for ninth graders while Menlo-Atherton, Woodside and Sequoia high schools do not.
“What happened on Wednesday was disappointing but not surprising,” said Michael Dekshenieks, a parent with Students First.
He said he believes the vote against consistency across campuses offering advanced course offerings is an act of “redlining” education.
At the meeting, parents and community members made public comments arguing that eliminating honors courses has widened achievement gaps, and claim that participation among underrepresented students is stagnant.
“Offering honors classes is the most fair system we have,” said Diana Bloom with the Jewish Community Advocacy Council. “It awards achievement, encourages students to do their best and gives every child, regardless of background or socioeconomic status, a clear path to prove what they can do.”
Teachers however spoke at the meeting to say that they have seen a very positive impact on student performance since ninth grade honors English was removed.
M-A offers a class called Multicultural Literature and Voice (MCLV) as the ninth grade English course and English teacher Erin Walsh said she’s heard students describe it as one of the hardest classes of their freshman year.
“Contrary to what many people believe, a heterogeneous class does not lower standards or expectations,” Walsh said during public comment. “We are teaching MCLV at an advanced level and providing support so that every student finds success.”
Edith Salvatore, president of the Sequoia District Teachers Association, emphasized the importance of reviewing data and the success of the program before making “one-off” changes.
“I think it’s important, as we see this topic come back again and again, that we not get worn down and make a knee-jerk reaction to change something when we don’t have data to support that change,” she said.
Nori expressed disappointment about the lack of concrete data made available to the board regarding improved student performance and enrollment in higher level honors classes as a result of detracking. He noted that the most significant data showing increased enrollment in Advanced English II for sophomores came from the white student population.
“That’s not a bad thing by any means, but it doesn’t necessarily meet the goal that was identified to a lot of people in the community to help increase minority representation in honors courses,” Nori said.
He shared his concerns about the potential for higher level honors and Advanced Placement classes to be eliminated as a result of the district’s justifications against a tracked system for ninth grade students.
Koo added that although the heterogeneous classes may not be impacting the intended student groups, “that does not mean we have to change course.” She said this opens up an opportunity to explore what has and hasn’t been effective in the classroom and offer targeted support for students who are struggling.
“It’s about what we can do to make sure our students are successful in those courses and the rigor is maintained,” Koo said.
“I don’t think the data is strong enough on either side to promote us spending this much valuable time and resources on this one topic,” Thompson added. She suggested that the board use its time to discuss more urgent issues such as cell phone policies and graduation rates.
Ginn pointed out that while students are able to choose Carlmont as their school of choice if they sought ninth-grade English honors, the school is already overenrolled. He said his suggestion to offer consistency in courses across all schools was intended to give all students equal access to honors classes regardless of their zip code.
“I want our district schools to be the first choice for all families and to meet all students where they are,” said Ginn. “I believe that a broad range of course offerings is better than a more limited range of course offerings.”
