SD Parents, Students Victorious in Rally Against Honors Classes Removal
After parents provided their input during Zoom meetings after the protest, the classes were restored.
(Element5 Digital via Unsplash)
Hundreds of San Diego parents and students protested a plan to remove 11th-grade grade honors classes for equity purposes.
In an April 13 email, Patrick Henry High School Principal Michelle Irwin said the school would eliminate its 11th grade history and English honors courses, according to Yahoo News. The rationale was to help “create more balanced heterogeneously grouped classes; eliminate stigma,” and “provide a well-balanced course offering for all students,” she said, adding the goal is “to have students from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds represented in our courses.”
The decision was met with protestors and a petition opposing the changes. As a result, Zoom meetings were held to get input from parents, which sparked the classes to be restored.
“We will continue to offer our current series of Honors and AP courses. In addition, we are excited to announce that Patrick Henry will participate in a district pilot of ‘Honors for All’ course options in grades 9 and 10 to offer more opportunities for our students to earn weighted credit,” said Irwin. “We will reach out to our rising 11th graders and parents in the upcoming weeks to solicit information regarding their course preferences for the 2022-23 school year.”
San Diego Unified School District spokesperson Mike Murad said the pause will allow school members “to continue the discussion on how to best enable each student to reach their full potential academically.”