School Board OKs Honors Restoration for Fall 2012
With 11-1 vote, members also commit to re-evaluating broader curriculum
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The Fairfax County School Board voted 11-1 Thursday to restore five honors courses to the high school curriculum starting with the fall semester.
Board member Dan Storck (Mount Vernon) introduced the motion that will bring English Honors 11, World History Honors 2, U.S./VA History, English 12 and U.S. Government back to the 2012-13 course catalogs for on-site instruction.
English Honors 11 and World History Honors 2 are currently offered online.
Member Kathy Smith (Sully) voted against the motion.
"I'm frustrated, disappointed that I think that the board isn't asking consequences questions," Smith said in Monday's work session on the topic. "I do not believe that three tracks serves most of our students well. If it's a question of rigor and workload then I think those are issues we need to address. ... But I think we do more damage to this school system and the students in it by creating a three-level system."
Smith did not speak about the motion on Thursday.
Storck's motion also addressed curriculum development, setting a goal for the board to review system policies in a way that more fully integrates student achievement goals.
Storck added this portion of the motion after considering Monday's work session discussion, in which a majority of members stated they supported adding more honors courses, but worried about creating a curriculum in haste.
In the work session, Superintendent Jack Dale and Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Peter Noonan said honors courses would have to blend the curriculums of counterpart AP- and standard-level courses to meet the requirement of implementing the courses in the fall. Storck's motion aims to ensure the board does not postpone creating a better curriculum systemwide.
"I'm very happy the motion we're addressing takes a longer view about curriculum throughout the entire school system," Ted Velkoff (At large) said.
Two amendments to the motion were also approved. Tammy Derenak Kaufax (Lee) added language that clarified the superintendent and Fairfax County Public Schools staff will be involved in curriculum development discussions with the board. Megan McLaughlin's (Braddock) amendment requires the descriptions for honors classes in course catalogs to be described as standard-level courses with increased depth and vigor.
Before the board began their discussion on the issue, 10 speakers took advantage of the public comment portion of the meeting to speak in support of the restoration of honors.
Kelly Haynes, a junior at Falls Church High School, said she enrolled in AP U.S. history after taking honors history courses since sixth grade. She struggled to earn a passing grade in the first quarter, so she switched to the general education course in the second quarter. She currently holds a 98 percent in the course, but says it is "super easy."
"My mom says I could be the poster child for why honors level classes are needed," she said to the board. "She says I am falling through the cracks. I'm not a super strong student in some classes, but I do like to be challenged and find the general ed classes way too easy, and the AP-level classes way too hard."
Other parents spoke about situations in which their children were forced to choose standard-level classes and were underchallenged: One parent said her child's recent assignment was to make a paper bag puppet; another said her child wrote no essays in the English course.
A parent of a sophomore at West Springfield High School said her son has Asperger's Syndrome, but the teacher in his standard-level course cannot reach out to his intelligence because she is overwhelmed with the wide range of abilities of students placed in her class.
"We want our kids to have balance in their lives, and that balance means different things for different students," Storck said.
The school board will begin discussion on honors curriculum at their Feb. 11. retreat.
Donna
8:26 am on Friday, January 27, 2012
This is fantastic news for our FCPS students. This will give those who need more enrichment from regular classes, but aren't quite AP the stepping stone they need to get the most out of their learning experience. Thank you to the 11 board members who listened to our students, teachers and parents to make this change happen.
Kathy Keith
9:32 am on Friday, January 27, 2012
I hope that the next superintendent takes more interest in the concerns of the community on school issues.
This Honors issue has been "on the table" for months, at least. Last night, Dale was asked what bringing Honors to a "standard level" English course would involve--would it be more books, writing, etc. Dale responded that he would have to "consult" with his curriculum people or something like that. He has had quite some time to consult with his people--and we are only talking about five courses.
Doesn't it seem as though Dale would have asked a few questions earlier? Also, does it not seem that he would know this, anyway. I am not an English teacher, and I don't think we need a rocket scientist to know that an Honors English class would probably involve reading more books(probably higher level ones, as well) and writing more essays than a Standard level English class. Isn't that what they do with 9th and 10th grade Honors.
English classes are required every year for every student in every high school in Fairfax county. Perhaps Dale was not an English teacher--but doesn't it seem like he would have some idea of the requirements of Honors vs Standard?
Mozart
10:00 am on Friday, January 27, 2012
Very pleased with this development. Thanks to the advocates like Louise Epstein who raised this issue and thanks to the School Board for having the sense to recognize that parents and students wanted honors courses restored.
SLS
11:31 am on Friday, January 27, 2012
I am thrilled with having the choice of Honor Classes. I have always felt that there was a gap in the curriculum for the in-between kids. My only criticism is that I feel that FCPS
changes its programs like the weather. We need consistency.
KH
12:51 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Thank you to all who have supported this effort to Restore Honors and to the new School Board for making changes that reflect that every student matters!
Catherine
1:34 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Thank you Louise Epstein and Kate Van Dyke for your efforts on behalf of our community. And thank you for your continued diligence to ensure Dr. Dale and his staff don't find some kind of loophole to subvert the school board's directives on Honors!
Kate Van Dyck
2:01 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Keep in mind that this issue has 'been on the table' for over 8 years as thousands of juniors and seniors faced the lack of appropriate choices in their last two years of education in Fairfax County! When we established Restore Honors Courses 15 months ago and then partnered with FAIRGRADE, we were very lucky to get the support of some key incumbent School Board members, like Dan Storck, Patty Reed and Sandy Evans. Then with new Board members adding their voices, like Megan McLaughlin, Elizabeth Schultz and Ryan McElveen- we finally made some progress in spite of the strong opposition of Jack Dale and Peter Noonan. Common sense and the personal experiences of student failures made the need for a middle tier so obvious. As a parent of two high school students and a public school special education teacher for over 26 years, I am thrilled that FCPS students will have more appropriate learning choices and that we can count on our wonderful teachers to do what they are trained so well to do- teach the children to be life-long successful learners! But we must be vigilant and challenge our schools to build on this success: improve learning opportunities for all students from Pre-K on up so students will arrive in our high schools ready for higher achievement, not reading on a third grade reading level or unable to write a simple essay! We also must ensure that these are truly honors courses at the high school level, not college level of AP without the test!!
Kate Van Dyck
Ellen
1:21 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Mrs. Smith, what in the world is your problem with honors??????????????I really don't get it and I never did. My kid fell through the cracks with the 2 level system. How could you possibly disagree with this decision? I have been trying to figure this one out for the past 6 years. Our students are not just 2 levels. That is ridiculous? A third level makes sense. Honors kids don't have to feel overwhelmed in AP/IB where they do NOT belong. Honors kids don't belong in regular ed where the classes are a breeze. Honors is the perfect answer. I never understood this about FCPS. Either your super genius or very hard worker and get put into AP. If you're above normal and want more of a challenge then regular ed, honors should work very well. My kid had no work at all in the regular ed classes so honors would have been perfect. What is your problem with this? Alot of FCPS kids fall into this category. I DON'T get it
Hannah
7:23 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
I feel that there should not be another level added to the education program. The money that we will spend on adding this level will greatly affect spending money for the other classes. I feel that students should be able to choose between AP and normal. If you child has problems with AP's then they should be taking a normal level class. Honors are just for the people who want to get the .5 bonus which I think is not a good enough reason to add in this level. The kids will begin to think that getting C's are ok because of the boost that they receive at the end of the year, when in realty colleges will look at the unweighted GPA.
Chris
8:26 am on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Are you afraid that your child will lose out on AP?
Kate Van Dyck
10:49 pm on Monday, February 6, 2012
In reply to Hannah's concern about additional costs for adding the 5 Honors courses voted for by the School Board, there is little to zero cost in adding these courses. Our teachers are already trained to teach their subjects at different levels, many have already taught these same honors courses in the last few years while they were still being offered at some high schools. No additional teachers are needed as the staffing formula will still be dealing with the same total number of students with only the course levels being different= same salary costs as before. Also students who choose an Honors course or courses, more often choose them because they are the most appropriate challenge level for their interests and abilities, not for the .5 GPA bump that colleges don't use anyway. College admissions staff regard Honors as advanced academics so an A or B in an Honors course reflects hard work and successful learning while a failed AP test reflects a lack of content mastery. Every student matters and successful learning at an appropriate level should be everyone's goal for our students!