Christina puts all on college track

General classes can hurt chances of further studies

By CECILIA LE / The News Journal  05/02/2005

Shatera Boardley would like to go to college, study culinary arts, become a chef and someday own a restaurant. But the high school classes she's taking won't equip her to do that.

The Christiana High School ninth-grader is enrolled in general, or basic-level, courses, which aren't designed for college-bound students.

"When I was in middle school, my teachers chose for me," Shatera said. "I just said OK."

At Christiana and other high schools in the Christina district, the hierarchy of courses goes like this: The top students take Advanced Placement or honors. The middle rung take college-prep. And at the bottom are general students, few of whom are expected to continue their educations.

Next year, the Christina district will do away with general courses. All students - except the severely disabled, who have individual education plans - will take a college-prep curriculum.

As colleges and employers ask for more from applicants, pressure is growing to increase the rigor of high schools nationwide.

The University of Delaware, like most four-year colleges, does not accept students who have taken less than a college-prep curriculum. So enrolling in general classes can seriously hinder a student's chances of gaining admittance to a university.

Delaware officials plan to increase the state's graduation requirements as soon as this year, in light of a report by Achieve Inc., a business-backed education group based in Washington. The report says all students need four years each of grade-level English and rigorous math. Delaware requires four years of English and three of math.

Meanwhile, the federal No Child Left Behind law says all students must be on grade level in math and reading by 2014, forcing many schools to re-examine the practice of assigning some students to an easy track.

"Basic is oftentimes code for below grade level," said Christina Superintendent Joseph Wise. "We should not be in the business of relegating kids to work or anointing kids to college."

A broader trend

Christina is not alone and isn't the first district in the state to get rid of basic-level courses.

Red Clay and Brandywine districts are phasing out general classes during the next several years. Caesar Rodney High School eliminated the last of its basic classes six years ago. "We're exposing all our students to the same rigorous program," said Caesar Rodney Superintendent Harold Roberts. "We believe in that very strongly."

But opponents say removing classes for the lowest-performing students is a mistake. Students who enter high school years below grade level, they say, need a lower-level class to catch up. Some say forcing harder classes on students who don't have the skills can lead to dropouts and frustration.

"I think kids should be pressed to do the most they can," said Wilmington child psychologist Harriet Ainbinder. "But some kids are not going to be able to do the college-prep work and are not interested in it."

Wise says district testing shows far more students have the aptitude for college-prep work than previously thought. He says students who drop out or fail usually say it's because school is too boring.

"The kids who are going to jobs need the same high-level rigor as the ones going to college," Caesar Rodney superintendent Roberts said. "If you never expect the same rigor from them, they're never going to get there. Some kids will fail, but most will rise to the expectations we set."

Widespread changes

The change will affect many; for example, 34 percent of Newark High School students are enrolled in general English.

Christina plans to offer seminars next year for students moving to college-prep classes. They will give them an extra period of academic support. Making the change isn't easy. Teachers need to be trained and paid to teach the seminars. The extra classes introduce a scheduling headache. Teachers must teach to a wider range of learning styles and ensure the college-prep courses don't get watered down.

In Shatera Boardley's English class at Christiana High, students are mostly black and Latino, with more boys than girls. Deanna Hubbard teaches the class. For her honors and college-prep classes, Hubbard assigns "Julius Caesar." But for this group, she's chosen "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, a text that grapples with racial themes.

"Do you think Esperanza would be friends with Cathy if she had a lot of other choices?" Hubbard asks, pressing for a no.

"Yes," one boy calls. "No," another says.

"Do you think she might be a little bit racist?"

Silence.

The bell rings.

Hubbard said doing away with the general courses is for the best. It's so hard, Hubbard says, to tell in the ninth grade what a student's potential is if he or she isn't challenged.

Shatera says she would have chosen college-prep courses had she known what they were. She says she could be challenged more.

'Branded for your whole career'

The level of classes a ninth-grader will take is decided by middle school grades, state test scores, teacher input and parent and student wishes. Once on a lower track, Wise said, moving up is "nearly impossible."

"Once you get branded in public education, you're branded for your whole career," the superintendent said.

Carter Belmont managed to escape that fate. The senior at Newark High School took all general classes her freshman year. When her mother realized they were doing her no good, she petitioned the school to transfer Belmont to college-prep.

"The atmosphere was like, 'Do this work if you want to. If not, you get an F. I don't really care,' " Belmont said about the general classes. "When I went to the [college-prep] classes, it was like, 'Everyone else is doing the work, so I should too.' "

Belmont will attend Hampton University in Virginia next year. Her classmate, Brooke Humfeld, gives school tours to incoming middle-schoolers. She tries to steer them away from the general track.

But she fears the addition of less motivated students might dilute college-prep courses.

Newark High School Principal Emmanuel Caulk is confident that's not so. The district this year tripled the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses, and he says the students have risen, not the other way around. "Putting them in general says, 'I don't believe in you,' " he said. "There's no basis for that. It sends the wrong message, it limits students' options and it's counter to our views of inclusion."

Contact Cecilia Le at 324-2794 or cle@delawareonline.com.

© 2005 delawareonline.com/The News Journal