Grant High School

Dear Grant Families

You may have recently received a message through the Grant Google Group expressing the concerns of a local middle school parent living in the Grant area who believes that Grant does not offer a rigorous program for students. I need to address significant inaccuracies in the assertions made in this message, because I want to ensure that our families have a complete picture of Grant High School's many advanced course offerings and dedication to every student's opportunity to grow and be challenged. Since the parent's message specifically addressed AP & IB courses, I want to speak to those first.

AP & Advanced Classes

As you know, the promise of the High School Redesign was that each high school would offer at least 10 AP or other college level and advanced classes.  As students and parents at Grant know, we at Grant have invested considerable energy in developing PSU and PCC dual credit courses, in addition to listening closely to students about their felt needs and aspirations in order to develop a variety of additional rigorous core classes and electives.  From our work together over the last 2 years, you know that I am committed to high expectations and excellent opportunities for ALL students. As we have discussed in many open meetings, the notion that rigor can only exist in a course with a third party sanction (i.e from the College Board) is implicitly insulting to our teachers, is not supported by research, and more importantly, does a disservice to our students.  Unfortunately, some (not many who are currently a part of the Grant community) still believe that exclusivity is a means of denoting rigor. That is precisely the mindset I am morally and ethically committed not to indulge.  Our goal at Grant is both to close the achievement gap AND simultaneously to enrich the academic experience of and challenge for each of our students, including our higher achievers.  These goals are not, as some think, in conflict.  I firmly believe that our higher achievers are best served by a program which advances rigor for every student, and not by one divided into two tracks: nominally "select" (and often segregated) classes where the perception of rigor dwells, sometimes without substance, and “regular” classes, where...you know.  Over the last few years, the Grant community has come together to embrace the former, rather than the latter, and we are proud of our collective work along with the opportunities we offer each of our students in collaboration with community partners.

As we begun to reconsider course offerings at Grant over the last few years, I knew I needed to update my understanding of the development of AP curriculum. I read A Critical Examination of the Advanced Placement Program  (Harvard Education Press) in addition to journal articles.  Changes made were not made without a great deal of rigorous thought.  Some information about the book can be found at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/03/30/ap

A recent article in the Atlantic Monthly http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/ap-classes-are-a-scam/263456/ summarizes many of the growing concerns about AP classes and their increasing presence in high schools.   Our counselors and I have all heard similar sentiments from various college recruiters.  In fact Raynard S. Kington, the President of Grinnell College, recently visited the school and remarked on the increasing pointless frenzy he sees around our country with AP classes and how thrilled he was to see some of the classes we were putting in place – classes he thought did a far better job preparing students for college.  And while this was only one person, the lack of depth in AP classes has long been a frustration for students and teachers and quite simply, we are finding a better and more balanced way. Despite my many reservations about AP classes, characterizing the school as “slashing” AP classes is simply not backed by the facts.  Please remember that PCC and PSU Dual Credit classes were always considered to be part of the course count for “AP and other Advanced” classes. 

Grant High School: Advanced Coursework Offerings 2012-2013

AP Courses

College Dual Credit Courses

 *not all taking for college credit

Advanced World Language Courses

Additional Advanced/Specialized Coursework

International Baccalaureate

There are substantial differences among schools that offer a few IB classes, and schools where students may (often on a limited basis due to funds) opt into a full IB program and schools where all students are fully engaged in an exclusive IB program.  I see little advantage (and many disadvantages) to simply adding a few IB classes to our Grant High School portfolio.  Could Grant benefit from having a fully functioning and widely available IB program?  Maybe.  But it is an academic question, because the resources and infrastructure are just not there. 

Here are a few pragmatic issues:

• MANY teachers would need to be trained before the program could be launched.  That costs money – PPS does not have it now, nor can we count on it down the road;
• That training for teachers cannot be mandated – so it is not possible to guarantee that we would have sufficient staff to offer a program;
• The school has no ability to use IB certification as a reason to unassign some teachers and keep others; and
• Maintaining an IB certified staff, in the absence of contractual union agreements, is too uncertain.  Schools can find themselves losing IB certified teachers and forced to hire non-IB certified staff.

Could the district designate one High School as THE IB school for the district (Focused Option) and consolidate resources there and have all students there be enrolled in an IB program?  Maybe.  But if the neighborhood HS is what people want, you trade off the benefit of consolidated resources allowing special programs.  That is a larger district policy issue and perhaps one that some community members may want to further explore.

 Foreign Language

We presently offer 2 world languages (Spanish and French both into the 5th year.) We also offer Spanish into the College Sophomore year through PSU.  In addition,  we offer Japanese where our 9th/10th grade immersion students take the AP Japanese exam with strong results.  

And finally…

What is distressing is not that someone was misinformed and worried and wanted information, but rather that one misinformed individual has been able to quickly create a great deal of unfounded hysteria that is hurtful and misleading to our school community.  Last year I wrote about some progress we had made at Grant - progress related to not jumping to the worst possible conclusions.  Progress about not going “viral” with rumors.  Progress about assuming thoughtful action on the part of the Grant leadership team, and checking in with a tone of solidarity when there is a concern – we are ALL in this together.  I want to thank the Grant parents and community who have written to me expressing their dismay that these accusations are being made and repeating their full support for how we are strengthening the program at Grant for ALL students.

Vivian Orlen

Principal, Grant High School