GILROY
– Two departments within Gilroy High School will recommend
adoption of additional honors courses as early as mid-January, when
the school board reconvenes next year.
GILROY – Two departments within Gilroy High School will recommend adoption of additional honors courses as early as mid-January, when the school board reconvenes next year.
Starting next school year, GHS underclassmen may have the option of taking an honors version of two core math and science subjects, biology and geometry.
If trustees approve the courses at their Jan. 16 or Feb. 6 sessions, it will mark the second expansion of the hotly debated honors program in less than two months.
“I think things are going in the right direction. These would be the right steps for right now,” said Tom Bundros, recently elected trustee and honors advocate. “I’ve spoken with people who are on the honors program task force and the feedback I’m getting is that parents are pleased.”
Some of those happy parents are part of the Alliance for Academic Excellence which fought to reinstate honors courses for high achieving students last school year.
After national media attention and the resignation of then GHS Principal Wendy Gudalewicz, the school district agreed to begin a pilot honors program for freshman English and social studies.
In November, trustees gave district administrators the go-ahead to expand honors classes in English and social studies to both freshman and sophomores in 2003-04, citing overall program success.
“We really aren’t using the word ‘pilot’ to talk about our honors program anymore, but we intend to continuously take a look at honors classes and their efficacy,” GHS Principal Bob Bravo said. “We have a group of parents and educators who are committed to stay together and work on this program through 2005.”
Bravo said the math and science departments have, as they usually do this time of year, begun drawing up course offerings for next school year. In those discussions, teachers declared their interest in and support for developing an honors curriculum in geometry and biology, but details regarding course work and grading criteria have not yet been established.
Parents have not taken part in designing courses, Bravo said. Rather, they are looking at the pros and cons of the honors program and particular honors courses.
When controversy over the honors program peaked last year, some parents and administrators complained that separating students based on ability was unfair to lower-achieving students who benefit from having better students in class.
Over the last several months, many parents have vocalized their desire to see more instruction separated by student ability levels. Although the honors program thus far has been open to any student wanting a challenge, honors courses typically function as a means of grouping students according to ability level.
In the case of math, Bravo explained that freshmen already separate into two ability-level groups – one that completes algebra in a year and another that takes the course over two years. Thus, Bravo said, the desire for more challenging math courses arises at the sophomore level, when any student who has finished algebra enters geometry.
“It’s just a natural fit to keep algebra as it is for now and make geometry the honors class,” Bravo said.
In science, the matter is more complicated. The department has been talking about adding an earth science course for underclassmen in addition to its biology offering. However, recent budget troubles due to the state’s $34.8 billion revenue shortfall could hamper efforts to establish entirely new classes.
“We’re not saying, ‘There’s no money so let’s stop talking,'” Bravo said. “But you have to look at the situation and figure out what it means. When you’re adding any new kind of course, you’re adding the expense of new textbooks and materials, too.”
At this point it seems the science department would move forward with a recommendation to split biology into honors and regular classes, Bravo said. The department may also push for an increase in the amount of science credits it takes to graduate, if such a change could be managed financially. Currently, students must take two years of science to graduate from GHS.
Meanwhile, Honors English for underclassmen next year would likely cover all aspects of language arts from literature to writing, as it does for freshmen now. In social studies, freshmen would continue to take Honors Global Studies, a cultural geography course. For sophomores, Honors World History would be offered, if the school board approved a recommendation to expand social studies honors courses to the 10th grade.
“I don’t see the budget as a problem in delivering honors courses as long as the student demand is there,” said Jim Rogers, a longtime GUSD administrator and current school board president.
