Sequoia Union High School District to revisit course offerings

Over the past decade, the district and its sites have made changes to course offerings including discontinuing advanced integrated science for incoming ninth graders to instead enroll all freshmen into Biology-P, condensing ninth grade English Language Arts classes at Woodside, Carlmont and Menlo-Atherton high schools and making similar changes to other math and science offerings.

Board President Richard Ginn proposed the district revisit the issue in a written statement read out during the board’s Oct. 25 meeting. He argued in favor of “maximum choice for students in every major subject area at all four of our large schools in each of the four years that students are with us.” 

Ginn said he’s discussed course offerings with administrators, teachers and parents and found that all administrators, most teachers and many parents support the district’s current offerings and streamlining courses. 

A district study of the course changes, which looked at grades, test scores, graduation credits and college and career prerequisites, found that while there appeared to be little to no effect on high-achieving populations, groups that have struggled in the past saw improvements including fewer course repeats and higher rates of students meeting college entrance requirements.

Still, Ginn noted the board has heard from a large group of people, including many from the advocacy group Sequoia Union High School District Students First, who have argued that by combining classes and doing away with some honors courses, the district “imposes a ceiling on our students’ aspirations and achievements,” according to a letter the group published in September. 

In its letter, the group also shared concerns about the study, asserting it cherry-picked data to present a more positive perception of course streamlining. Dr. Diana Wilmot, director of Program Evaluation and Research, developed the study and has acknowledged its shortcomings while noting she also challenged her own biases. Faculty backed up Wilmot’s research during that initial study session with data and anecdotal insight into how students are doing at each campus.

Transparency was also an issue for the group and public given that courses have been changed without community input. Recognizing these concerns, Ginn said the board should provide guidance on the issue even if the guidance is to stay the course, asserting that staying silent on the matter would not be proper leadership and would be unfair to staff. 

“There are regions in our state where residents with school aged children either send their children to private school, or move. We should want our region to be one that people move to because of the schools, not from, because they believe that the schools won’t meet their student’s needs,” Ginn said. “I believe that our course offerings do impact the public’s perception of our schools; and I believe that if the public’s perception of our schools is not strong, that perception will have a negative impact on our schools as families seek alternatives.” 

Ginn initially requested that the board hold a study session, during which staff would provide additional information on district graduation requirements that go beyond the state. With that information, Ginn said the board could decide to reduce those requirements, freeing up time for students to take more extracurriculars and honors courses. 

Trustees Carrie DuBois and Shawneece Stevenson were against moving forward with the discussion. DuBois shared concerns that the discussion would drive distrust at a time when the board should be rebuilding it while Stevenson said she is worried for the students from diverse backgrounds who weren’t being centered in the conversation. 

“What I’m really struggling with right now are different ways we’re talking about choices but not talking about it in the context of our community, in the sense of the 8,000 kids we have and the vast diversity we have,” Stevenson said. “It feels like another way to leave students out when we talk about choices but not talk about it in the context of who we really are as a district and who is really in our distinct.”

Trustee Sathvik Nori was the only other member to support the initial request but Ginn was able to gain support from Trustee Amy Koo after he proposed the board discuss the issue without asking staff to present additional information. 

Without board direction, Superintendent Crystal Leach said during an Oct. 11 meeting that the district will be issuing a short survey to ninth graders to gauge how they feel about their school experience. She and staff are also looking into articulation from feeder schools after hearing that some middle school content needs to be revisited freshmen year. Administrators are working with principals on crafting a vision for the overall ninth grade experience.

“The reason I think it makes sense to have the discussion is because we just have a lot of loose ends that are not tied up and I think we need to present a unified front to the community because there’s all this stuff swirling around,” Koo said. “There’s no concrete statement from the board.”