Dissent rumbled among the roughly 70 parents who gathered in the cafeteria of Durgee Junior High School on July 29 for a question-and-answer session about the Baldwinsville Central School District’s proposed changes to the middle-level math and science curriculum announced last month.
The district plans to require all eighth-graders to take Regents Algebra 1 and Regents Earth Science in the 2016-17 school year. Along with technology, art, music and foreign language courses, B’ville eighth-graders could earn up to four of the 22 credits required to graduate high school.
“The idea was to turn middle school from a waiting room … to a launching pad,” Superintendent Dr. David Hamilton told the audience.
A panel featuring Hamilton, Durgee Principal Bonnie Van Benschoten, Ray Middle School Principal Alex Ewing and Baker High School Principal Bob Edwards answered questions submitted by the parents on index cards. Administrators sorted the cards by topic and a moderator read selected questions aloud for the panel to answer.
“How is it helpful if you are asking the questions that we as parents are asking?” one mother said from the audience. “You’re not giving us an opportunity for a voice.”
Many parents ignored administrators’ attempts to hold off on follow-up questions by shouting their questions anyway.
Hamilton said data from 2011 showed that 47 percent of middle-school students opted for accelerated math classes and 50 percent enrolled in accelerated science.
“We’re ready to take [the program from] some of the students to practically all,” he said.
“The district has been gradually increasing the percentage of students who take Regents classes in eighth grade over several years,” Hamilton said in an email to the Messenger. “In conversations this year with staff, administration and the board we felt this was the next logical step.”
Hamilton said the board of education is not required to vote on the change.
Administrators said allowing eighth-graders to earn high school credits would open up options for Advanced Placement courses and other opportunities later in high school, but some parents are concerned that their options for middle-schoolers are being taken away.
“They’re forcing kids who have not opted to take it into the program,” one parent said.
For the 2015-16 school year, sixth- and seventh-graders will take new math and science courses designed to prepare them for the Regents in eighth grade. Rising eighth-graders who did not opt for the accelerated program will take Science 8 and Math 8, and accelerated students will take Regents Algebra 1 and Regents Earth Science. By 2016-17, all eighth-graders will take those Regents courses and exams.
Others voiced concerns for students with disabilities and gifted students, too. Hamilton said the new curriculum would allow for “flexibility” for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Van Benschoten and Ewing said Durgee and Ray will include additional instructional support time to assist students who are struggling and provide enrichment for students who don’t feel challenged enough.
Durgee has built a guided math support time into its schedule “with the purpose of assisting students with classwork scheduled for students determined on end of year grades in math,” the FAQ reads. “What I Need,” or “WIN” time, will also increase to 30 minutes at Durgee, and an afterschool program for math and science help will be implemented.
At Ray, the core lab time will be extended to provide support and enrichment for students.
“We need the learners to guide us in their interests,” Van Benschoten said.
Van Benschoten said the district is hoping to transform the notion that middle school is just a waiting period for high school.
“We’ve been listening to your children in the hallways saying, ‘Eighth grade doesn’t count,’” she said, adding that the district’s intention is “not [to] overburden a student but balance their choices.”
Van Benschoten also pointed out that the majority of eighth-graders are in an accelerated foreign language program, which gives them high school credit.
One parent question asked if students were in danger of earning lower grades because of the high-school level of the material.
“We are very confident that that GPA is going to maintain,” Van Benschoten said.
While some parents walked out of the meeting, administrators said the district would contact each person who left a name on the question cards to answer their questions. One parent suggested the district publish every question and answer to the school website, as the district did with a “Frequently Asked Questions” document and last week’s PowerPoint presentation.
“Throughout this process including the meeting Wednesday night we have been communicating out and responding to parent questions in an effort to make sure everyone is well informed,” Hamilton wrote to the Messenger. “I’ve been pleased with the number of families and community members who have expressed their support for increased challenges and opportunities for our students.”
