Students and officials at Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) in California disagree about whether or not cutting some honors courses from the curriculum was beneficial, according to The Wall Street Journal.
SUHSD cut nearly a half dozen honors courses that were largely for freshman to reduce racial segregation and increase “racial equity,” according to the WSJ.
Some officials say the tactic is helping minorities meet graduation requirements and complete courses needed for admissions into universities, but some students are saying school is less difficult than it once was.
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“I’m hearing from a lot of families that ninth grade is soft, it’s easier than eighth grade was, and students’ needs aren’t being met. I’m hearing from those families that they are going to private school and I’m also hearing the same from East Palo Alto students,” Board of Trustee President Richard Ginn said at a September meeting, according to the MA Chronicle. “I don’t know what the right solution is but it is not to do nothing,”
“We’re not fixing anything,” Jacob Yuryev, a senior in the district and a student board member, told the WSJ.
Yuryev said students he has indirectly polled are against getting rid of freshman honors classes, even those who don’t want to take them, according to the WSJ.
Other school districts and schools in California have also axed honors courses to increase racial equity, such as Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Patrick Henry High School.
“It’s OK at the freshman level that they are enjoying a common experience,” Karen van Putten, the Woodside High School principal, said at the board meeting, according to WSJ. “And common should not be a negative word.”
SUHSD did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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