School Board OKs Honors Restoration for Fall 2012

The Fairfax County School Board voted 11-1 Thursday to restore five honors courses to the high school curriculum starting with the fall semester.

Board member Dan Storck (Mount Vernon) introduced the motion that will bring English Honors 11, World History Honors 2, U.S./VA History, English 12 and U.S. Government back to the 2012-13 course catalogs for on-site instruction.

English Honors 11 and World History Honors 2 are currently offered online.

Member Kathy Smith (Sully) voted against the motion.

"I'm frustrated, disappointed that I think that the board isn't asking consequences questions," Smith said in . "I do not believe that three tracks serves most of our students well. If it's a question of rigor and workload then I think those are issues we need to address. ... But I think we do more damage to this school system and the students in it by creating a three-level system."

Smith did not speak about the motion on Thursday.

Storck's motion also addressed curriculum development, setting a goal for the board to review system policies in a way that more fully integrates student achievement goals.

Storck added this portion of the motion after considering Monday's work session discussion, in which a majority of members stated they supported adding more honors courses, but worried about creating a curriculum in haste. 

In the work session, Superintendent Jack Dale and Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Peter Noonan said honors courses would have to blend the curriculums of counterpart AP- and standard-level courses to meet the requirement of implementing the courses in the fall. Storck's motion aims to ensure the board does not postpone creating a better curriculum systemwide.

"I'm very happy the motion we're addressing takes a longer view about curriculum throughout the entire school system," Ted Velkoff (At large) said.

Two amendments to the motion were also approved. Tammy Derenak Kaufax (Lee) added language that clarified the superintendent and Fairfax County Public Schools staff will be involved in curriculum development discussions with the board. Megan McLaughlin's (Braddock) amendment requires the descriptions for honors classes in course catalogs to be described as standard-level courses with increased depth and vigor.

Before the board began their discussion on the issue, 10 speakers took advantage of the public comment portion of the meeting to speak in support of the restoration of honors.

Kelly Haynes, a junior at Falls Church High School, said she enrolled in AP U.S. history after taking honors history courses since sixth grade. She struggled to earn a passing grade in the first quarter, so she switched to the general education course in the second quarter. She currently holds a 98 percent in the course, but says it is "super easy."

"My mom says I could be the poster child for why honors level classes are needed," she said to the board. "She says I am falling through the cracks. I'm not a super strong student in some classes, but I do like to be challenged and find the general ed classes way too easy, and the AP-level classes way too hard."

Other parents spoke about situations in which their children were forced to choose standard-level classes and were underchallenged: One parent said her child's recent assignment was to make a paper bag puppet; another said her child wrote no essays in the English course.

A parent of a sophomore at West Springfield High School said her son has Asperger's Syndrome, but the teacher in his standard-level course cannot reach out to his intelligence because she is overwhelmed with the wide range of abilities of students placed in her class.

"We want our kids to have balance in their lives, and that balance means  different things for different students," Storck said.

The school board will begin discussion on honors curriculum at their Feb. 11. retreat.