GILROY
– Under pressure from a parents group, the Gilroy High School
English Department told the school board it will support the use of
a textbook. Members of the department, as well as Principal Bob
Bravo, have already begun examining various anthology textbooks and
supplemental materials to pilot a pr
ogram next semester.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Under pressure from a parents group, the Gilroy High School English Department told the school board it will support the use of a textbook. Members of the department, as well as Principal Bob Bravo, have already begun examining various anthology textbooks and supplemental materials to pilot a program next semester.
The news clearly surprised some parents attending Thursday’s school board meeting. They have lobbied for a more rigorous reading list and the use of a textbook to support teachers’ lessons.
“Based on the comments of some of the teachers on the (advisory group), it is clear that some teachers are not interested in using an anthology, and if (English Department Chair Peter Gray) would’ve been there, he would’ve seen that,” said Bob Heisey, who has one child in eighth grade and another who graduated from GHS last year. Heisey was referring to the fact that Gray has not attended meetings of the Reading Literature Advisory Group.
Parents belonging to the Alliance for Academic Excellence, who have closely watched the group since it was formed by GHS to review the criteria for selecting the reading list, addressed members of the school board in turn to ask that it postpone the group’s work or cancel it entirely. Several parents said the group is unqualified to make curricular decisions and urged that a textbook be selected by district experts before next semester.
“We’re here for the same reason we always come to you: We’ve exhausted every single resource,” said Jackie Stevens, who has a freshman at GHS. “We have met with the principal, we’ve talked to the assistant superintendent, we’ve talked to the superintendent, we’ve sat in (advisory group meetings), we’ve seen the failure of (the group) and more.
“What we are asking for is a return to the basics,” Stevens said. “We want the skills instruction, we want the standards instruction. I can tell you as a teacher, you cannot make it up on your own. You need the support of these kinds of materials.”
Parents have criticized the high school’s core reading list, saying it focuses on social themes at the expense of exposing students to classic English literature and questioning what, if any, criteria were used to select books. Following the school board’s approval of the reading list last spring, parents asked to meet with the English department to discuss changes before this school year. Bravo formed the reading literature advisory group in September to examine reading list criteria and recommend a revised list.
About seven Alliance parents and one English teacher attended Thursday’s board meeting, in which Bravo, Gray and Jacki Horejs, assistant superintendent of educational services, provided school board members with an update on the advisory group’s work.
The reading list group will continue with the support of the district and the English department, despite parents’ criticism and suggestions of disagreement between English teachers. Superintendent Edwin Diaz expressed his support for the group and said it should continue its current procedures and timeline for reviewing the reading list selection criteria.
“If (Bravo) feels that the (advisory) group is helping contribute to his knowledge in order to make a solid recommendation about a reading list and a textbook adoption, then I think we should honor that,” Diaz said.
Diaz’s comments concluded an hour and a half dedicated to discussion of the advisory group during a Gilroy Unified School District board meeting that lasted three and a half hours.
Trustees noted recent discussions of philosophical differences within the English department. The impetus for reviewing the reading list and criteria was the concern that it lacked rigor and that books were added to the list solely to promote diversity.
School board members Tom Bundros and David McRae both asked Bravo if conflicts exist in the department and if those concerns will be addressed.
“I don’t think these groups are really talking a lot about politics or political agenda,” Bravo said. “Clearly, there was a move in this district, as in … probably most all districts in the state of California, to diversify the reading list during the 1990s. … I think the group is holding themselves to being really disciplined … and I haven’t heard the (reading list) group itself talking in political terms.”
Gray also defended his department, noting that members met Oct. 21 to discuss the progress of the advisory group, which includes five English teachers. The department also discussed the possibility of adopting a textbook next year. English teachers currently use novels and supplemental writings to support lessons.
“We back up the idea and believe very deeply in the notion that we need a guaranteed and viable curriculum, and we really support that and we were unanimous in that,” Gray said. “We also are open to the adoption of an anthology. There is no opposition in my department to having an anthology.”
Bundros, who has attended the advisory group’s meetings, questioned why this support of an anthology was not made clear to the group during its most recent meeting Oct. 29.
Many who attended the group’s last meeting were confused after a district facilitator and an English teacher told group members that they would only create a list of criteria. Many left not knowing whether the department would consider approving a textbook.
“We sent (those five teachers) forth with our consensus to make that known at the meeting,” Gray said, apologizing for the uncertainty.
Responding to questions from parents concerning the department’s apparent change of heart, Diaz said the district’s practice of aligning curriculum and materials to standards has begun at the high school.
“I can point clearly to how this happened,” Diaz said. “And it’s going to sound like an excuse, but from my perspective, this is how it happened: We have really been focused on aligning instruction and materials to state standards. … but the materials, as far as the textbook, we didn’t have that in place, so that mistake won’t be repeated again.”
An additional advisory group meeting is scheduled for Thursday. Members will be invited to hear presentations from textbook publishers tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18 and 23.
Reading Literature Advisory Group
GHS Assistant Principal Joni Madolora, jo***********@*********ca.us
School Board Member TJ Owens, to******@*ol.com
Teachers: Debbie DeWall, dd*****@*********ca.us, Sara Elliott, se******@*********ca.us, Susie Huerta, sh*****@*********ca.us, Tom Simmons, to*********@*********ca.us, Jane Singleton, ja************@*********ca.us
Parents: Rhona Chan, Rose Harmon, Debbie Strunk, Julie Varner
Students: Luz Gonzales, Shaesta Razaqi
Facilitator: Juanita Contin, ju************@*********ca.us
