Reading the Jan. 18 Wednesday Journal article, “School board candidates riff on equity” raises many questions for me.
As a 44-year resident of Oak Park who raised four children in the Oak Park public and private schools, I am interested in participating in the discussion regarding the new education challenges our villages face.
In 1996, a student acquaintance graduated from an Oak Park junior high to attend a local private high school. Much to his surprise, testing placed him in noncredit “remedial classes.” Realizing he was capable of more challenging work, he increased effort, engaged in assistance and went on to graduate a member of the National Honor Society. He also enjoyed a level of support not available to all students.
But a pathway was provided for improvement and there was no attempt to disguise a deficiency and call it by another name. Is this approach of providing classes at different competency levels out of vogue? Should this approach be revisited? Add mentorship from the community to encourage achievement?
Candidate Christian Chiakulas suggests a much different approach.
What is an example of how to structure an English class that “comes down to the students’ level and brings all students up together”? How is that accomplished when some students read at or above grade level and others below grade level?
Nicole Hannah-Jones, staff writer for New York Times magazine, describes her difficult choice to “surrender advantage” by placing her daughter in a segregated public school in her New York City neighborhood. (www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/choosing-a-school-for-my-daughter). Is this the type of sacrifice Chiakulas is referring to? For Hannah-Jones, the sacrifice was choosing a low performing school for her child in the interest of improving all students. For OP-RF residents, our high school has a number of programs that have a rigor not all students are ready for. Do we dismantle them toward a more median norm? How does this affect graduates’ ability to succeed at the college level?
How do we “surrender advantage”?
Barbara Bodner
Oak Park