For the second time in two years, proposed changes to the Option II program in the WW-P district brought dozens of concerned students and parents to a WW-P Board of Education meeting.
At its December 9 meeting — the last of 2014 — the Board voted 6 to 2 to pass the changes to the program of studies recommended by the Curriculum Committee at the previous Board meeting. Changes including the creation of an engineering department and several new courses met with little or no public comment.
In contrast, new restrictions on the Option II course of study, and the elimination of the high school independent study program, generated significant public comment.
Assistant Superintendent Martin Smith, who gave the presentation on the curriculum changes, explained the administration’s recommended revisions to Option II, which currently allows high school students to take up to eight outside-of-district courses.
Changes introduced at the beginning of 2014 barred students from taking Option II courses in the same subject in consecutive summers without taking a course in the subject during the intervening school year and gave a list of approved Option II courses.
“Going forward, credit can only be earned for one Option II course per year, for a total of four courses, and students can only take one Option II course per subject/academic area. If students do not pass their Option II course, they will have to take it again in-district, rather than through Option II again,” said Smith.
“And we are asking students to complete all Option II coursework by the fall of their senior year, if possible, so that we can ensure that they have enough credits to graduate. However, we will allow exceptions to this rule. No students will be placed in jeopardy of graduating on account of these changes,” advised Smith. “If there is any issue, students should come directly to me, and we will ensure that they will be able to graduate.”
“But we feel strongly about limiting the Option II program. Fifty percent of students who take Option II courses do not pass. And for students who traditionally have tried to take enough option II classes to allow them to take courses at Princeton University during their senior year, this has become less feasible as the college cannot accommodate the high schoolers’ schedules. And there has been a significant amount of abuse of the Option II system, which is another reason why we are revising the system.”
Several students, notably juniors from High School South, and parents, expressed concern over the limits being placed on Option II.
Said South Junior Angela Yu, “I recognize that changes need to be made to the Option II program, because students are taking courses just to pad their resumes, but the changes you are suggesting do not reflect what is needed. The reforms need to be made at the district test level [that Option II students must pass in order to get credit]. If the test is rigorous and thorough, that is where you can weed out students who are not serious.”
Other students explained that the changes would prevent them from taking advance science and math courses or from taking classes at Princeton University.
Another concern was that the changes would take effect immediately, thereby potentially affecting coursework for this year’s juniors. Said Shopah Rao, “I am the parent of a high school junior. Option II has alleviated my daughter’s academic stress because she was planning on taking two Option II courses over the summer as prerequisites to allow her to take two courses she needs to graduate. Can’t the changes to Option II be phased in, or defer its implementation to allow juniors to finish the course of study they had planned?”
One parent, however, applauded the district for the change. “Students have only one chance to be kids — to enjoy the outdoors, shape their bodies through exercise, and to play and have fun. If they study all the time — throughout the summer — they have no chance to do these things. Taking so many AP courses in high school is not really beneficial. It is better to take college coursework in college, when they are more academically and emotionally able to handle the subjects. I know what I am talking about — two of my children have already graduated, and I have a PhD in chemistry. Kids need time to be kids, and should not feel obligated to study all the time,” said Dr. Lucy Liu.
Regarding the elimination of the independent study program, Smith explained, “Teachers are not paid to supervise a student’s independent study project, due to limits on how many hours they can teach. Therefore, with less oversight, there is less academic rigor and accountability in the independent study program. And frankly, there have been abuses of the program. So we are going to eliminate the independent study as an option for high school students. Students interested in taking a course outside of the regularly offered curriculum can still avail themselves of Option II or the student research program.”
Several students commented on this decision. Said South Junior Marco Kaisth: “I realize that the independent study program does have a lack of supervision and rigor and doesn’t compensate involved teachers fairly. In light of this, I think your proposal is fair.
“However, I think there should still be a way for students, particularly those at a higher grade level, to study topics that will enrich their education but may not be offered by the school in conjunction with their school, not outside of it. Many students would benefit from being able to study something that lines up with their interests in a scholastic environment without having to deal with the incompatible scheduling or financial burden of taking an Option II course.
“My suggestion would be to use the ‘senior option’ as a feasible way to integrate independent study with sufficient rigor and without impacting the teachers, by allowing a second option within itself so that students could either do the conventional senior option (leaving school for half the day to work/intern) or have senior option for one period of the day and do the equivalent of an independent study there.
“Both high schools have teachers who ‘teach’ senior option, so there wouldn’t be an issue with teachers not being compensated; having a set teacher and class period would provide students the ability to be graded on not only their output but also their attentiveness/work ethic in class itself; and by running the program through senior option, students would only be able to receive elective credits, rather than being able to take core subjects as an independent study.”
Two Board members — Louisa Ho and Yu Taylor Zhong — voted against passage of the program of studies, and outgoing Board member Rachelle Feldman-Hurwitz was not present. The remainder of the Board voted to approve the new program of studies. Prior to formally voting, some Board members voiced their thoughts.
“Although I am generally in favor of the changes, I would like students to be able to take two Option II courses in one area of study if they want to, rather than only one. And I want to consider the impact these changes will have on junior and senior students. But I do agree that taking eight Option II courses is too many. Students need to grow in extracurricular ways, not just academically,” said Louisa Ho.
Michele Kaish noted: “It is clear to me that the intent and goal of Option II is not to be a vehicle for public school students to outsource core academic courses for the purpose of rapid acceleration through high school curriculum. In creating Option II, I do not believe that the Department of Education is suggesting that six-week courses in math or science or social studies are substitutes for deep and meaningful learning experiences in year-long high school classes.
“That conclusion has been recognized by many high-achieving New Jersey high schools,” continued Kaish, noting that several of the top-ranked public high schools in the state allow the use of Option II only for remediation or courses not offered at the high school, but not for advancement or acceleration. “So clearly Option II is not what makes great schools great,” she said.
“The proposed Option II changes ensure that our students will graduate with a solid foundation in all the subjects required by New Jersey for graduation. The data supports that conclusion. Last summer the vast majority of our students who Option II’ed core subject area courses over the summer were not successful. But what is equally, if not more compelling for me, is what we learned from comparing Option II students against students who took the analogous course during the school year at North or South. A review of grades in subsequent classes shows that students who take prerequisite courses in-district out-perform students who satisfied the prerequisite through Option II.”
Board President Anthony Fleres advised the audience, “You have given us a lot of information to consider for the incoming Board [which starts in January]. Your comments have been heard and will be considered by the new Board before implementing the new program of studies.”
#b#Other Board Action.#/b# The Board also voted to amend the previously approved 2015-’16 calendar to adjust the timing of K-5 conferences to better coincide with revisions being made to the K-5 report card, as well as the Community Education youth programs for spring and summer, 2015. In personnel matters, the Board formally appointed Kyle Schimpf as assistant principal at Community Middle School and recognized Transportation Coordinator Ruth Lakatis, who is retiring after 19 years of service to the district.
Finally, the Board listened to West Windsor resident Henry Murphy, who asked the Board to support a resolution passed by the West Windsor Town Council relating to improvements for pedestrian crossings and in police enforcement at the crosswalks on Clarksville Road in front of Maurice Hawk School.
“We are grateful that the Board is well known for being mindful of its pedestrian constituency. We ask your help in this regard tonight. The West Windsor town council, during their session Monday, November 24, asked that I obtain your agreement to this concept of improving the safety of the crosswalks in front of the school as part of their appeal to the county for funding. To my knowledge, there is no funding or cost, other than the preparation and passing of a resolution, involved on the School Board’s part. I urge you to adopt a related resolution,” said Murphy.
West Windsor Council member and school board liaison Peter Mendonez was not present at the Board meeting, and the Board did not act on the resolution.
The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Community Middle School.
