School struggles with honors class dilemma

Sisters High School Principal Bob Macauley took some heat last week from parents upset because the school dropped a ninth grade honors English class.

Students were moved into a standard English class with a commitment to receive enrichment opportunities and "differentiated" teaching appropriate for their rate and level of learning.

The move stood in apparent contradiction to an earlier statement by Macauley that the school had, despite budget cuts, added advanced-placement English classes and kept all the honors programs.

Macauley told The Nugget on Thursday that he made the decision to drop the class because it was the best way to create a decent learning environment.

There had been 39 students in the honors English class; there will be approximately 30 in the classes to which the students have been moved.

Honors students will be able to explore the subject at greater depth through research projects and the like, according to Macauley.

He acknowledged that the move concerns some parents, 12 of whom raised their concerns with him directly. Not all of them are satisfied that "differentiated" instruction will provide the same quality of education.

"The parents would say that the level of work is not as high," Macauley said. "And there's some validity to that."

Robin Carlson is the mother of a ninth-grade daughter. She told The Nugget that she and other parents believe their children will be most challenged in a class where the students are all operating at the same high level, where reading selections are tougher and discussion is more intense.

However, Macauley cited recent best-practices research that indicates that differentiated instruction is the best way to provide quality instruction to all students -- each working at a level appropriate to his or her rate and level of learning.

Sisters School District Curriculum Director Lora Nordquist has also advocated differentiated instruction. However, that was in the context of very small classes of 18-24, which allows teachers to spend more time with each student.

Such classes are a pipe dream in Sisters right now, due to increasingly tight budget constraints.

Under such circumstances, Macauley said "my job is to see that teachers -- and we've got good ones -- have the opportunity to teach in the best possible conditions."

A 39-1 student/teacher ratio wasn't even close to that standard, he said.

The principal also noted that adding and maintaining advanced placement (AP) classes for upper grades is critical, because students need to have those classes on their resumés for college.

Forced to choose between honors classes at high grades and in the ninth grade, Macauley indicated he had to make sure AP was available.

He also said he was committed to providing 10th grade honors English, another key concern of parents of ninth graders looking to the future.

Carlson said the decision could have been communicated better.

"I would really have liked to see a parent meeting (with Macauley)," she said. "I think taking away an honors class is a pretty big thing."

One of the concerns parents have is that higherachieving students may become bored in circumstances where they are not sufficiently challenged.

That is a concern often expressed by parents of Talented and Gifted (TAG) students. They note that such students can lose interest in school and get into trouble if programs are not geared for their needs.

Carlson is not unsympathetic to the bind administrators are in trying to provide for all students on a tight budget. She's just not convinced that cutting ninth grade honors English was the right move.

"I totally understand the budget issues, but I think this is really important and I think if there's any way to preserve it we should try," she said.

Macauley emphasized that he is not unhappy that parents questioned him sharply about this decision.

He noted that he wants to work in a community that cares about high standards.

"The parents we're hearing are saying the standards aren't high enough. That's the complaint," he said.

That is an indication, he said, of the parents commitment to and involvement in their children's education.

"For that they are to be applauded," Macauley said. "That's why this community is so healthy."

Educators have long been frustrated by a state education funding system that has not worked well even in good economic times and has led to severe belt-tightening in times of economic recession.

The local option tax, up for renewal at the polls November 2, has kept Sisters solvent, along with enrollment growth that brings in funding with each new student. Even so, the district has cut staff and lopped days off the calendar.

Districts with no local option and/or declining enrollment have had to cut more deeply.

Macauley is resigned to continuing to struggle with what virtually all educators consider inadequate state support.

"I'm not waiting for the state to fix something," he said. "It's not going to get fixed."

Instead, he and the rest of the staff, along with many community volunteers, continue to look for ways to fund all school programs.