Students who require an enhanced challenge to their schoolwork
can find a variety of classes to fit the bill at the secondary
level, according to a list provided by Morgan Hill Unified School
District officials.
Morgan Hill – Students who require an enhanced challenge to their schoolwork can find a variety of classes to fit the bill at the secondary level, according to a list provided by Morgan Hill Unified School District officials.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson told School Board trustees during their Aug. 28 meeting that there is no plan to eliminate honors classes in the district, despite a rumor that surfaced during a recent board meeting.
“Our goal is not to reduce the number of honors classes available to students, but to provide all students the opportunity to access all those classes,” Johnson said.
Students at the district’s two middle schools can choose from advanced English, advanced social studies, advanced U.S. history, College Preparatory algebra and College Preparatory geometry.
The high schools offer Advanced Placement biology, chemistry, physics, languages, British literature, art, U.S. and world history, calculus and statistics. Honors classes are offered in French 3, Spanish 3, American literature, trigonometry and pre-calculus.
When students take an Advanced Placement class, they have the opportunity at the end of the course to take an statewide exam; if they pass that exam, they may receive college credit for that course, plus, their grade point value is inflated. For example, if the student receives an A in the course, instead of the four points earned when taking a regular class, the student’s A would be worth five points.
College Preparatory courses and advanced courses offer students a challenge, with a more in-depth study of the subject matter.
School Board President Peter Mandel said if the rumor about getting rid of advanced classes were true, it goes against what trustees and district officials are trying to accomplish.
“That would be counterintuitive to what we are doing,” he said. “We’re going in the opposite direction, more honors classes rather than less.”
Mandel added that he would like to see honors science classes at the middle school level; currently, there are none.
Trustee Shelle Thomas said she would like to see more honors classes available at the ninth-grade level.
Higher level academics is a topic near and dear to his heart, said Superintendent Alan Nishino. The idea that the district would take away classes, rather than adding more, is contrary to the district’s objectives, he said.
“Our focus is academic rigor, relevance and relationships,” he said.
Trustee Bart Fisher said he hoped the “communications issue” which led to the misunderstanding had been taken care of. Johnson told him that school principals have received the correct information.
“I think we’ve been remiss in providing for our kids who are our highest achievers,” Nishino added. “It has been my experience that if you raise the bar, you raise the bar for everyone. Part of the dilemma in education today is that we can’t close the achievement gap … If everybody moves, our top kids keep moving higher, too, and until they hit the ceiling, it’s harder to close that gap. I think we’re not doing enough for the top kids, we want them to accelerate as much as they can.”
Nishino said he believes that so much focus has been placed on bringing up the under-achieving students and working with the “middle” students, that the ones at the top end of the spectrum have been underserved.
“I think we’ve even brought the top kids down,” he said. “What we need is higher targets and have everybody move toward those targets. For every group, we need that same type of intense teaching, appropriate to their position on the spectrum. I don’t think the middle kids will be cheated at all by this approach. In fact, they may benefit the most.”
