GUEST COLUMN

Remove the requirement for South Side High School students to take International Baccalaureate courses

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As a member of Rockville Centre’s Special Education Partners and the group’s current South Side High School representative, I would like to reply to the guest column by Delia Garrity, Carol Burris and Robin Calitri (“Supporting excellence and equity for all students,” Nov. 15-21).

I am writing not only on behalf of SEP, but also on behalf of special education students at the high school who have conditions such as dyslexia, brain injuries, neurologic disorders and significant reading deficits — some read at an elementary school level.

The former leaders of the Rockville Centre school district stated in their column that they oppose efforts by special education parents to remove the mandate that all students in the 11th grade must take International Baccalaureate — an intense honors program — English and history classes. They state that the I.B. mandate was enacted to cure racial and economic segregation issues found during their tenure. I have no idea what that has to do with the proper academic classroom setting for special-education students.

They note that in 1986, more than 30 years ago, I.B. and Advanced Placement classes were filled primarily with students from wealthy homes, while “lower-track classes” were occupied primarily by students of color and children of low-income families. They add that most special education students and English language learners were segregated in self-contained classes.

They concluded, “It became clear to both Calitri and Superintendent Dr. William Johnson that low-track classes were not only not serving students well, they were also a source of student unrest.”

At an October Board of Education meeting, I spoke about how it was important for each board member to scrutinize information and data provided by the administration and others. The guest column by Garrity, Burris and Calitri, a version of which was sent as a letter to the board, should also be examined.

First, they repeatedly use the terms self-contained and tracking. Outside of the Core and Rise programs, there are no self-contained classes for special education students. It is also important to note that SEP isn’t advocating for self-contained classes.

Secondly, the tracking that they refer to no longer exists. Pursuant to state education regulations, all classes — math, English, science and history — are Regent classes. Moreover, all of Rockville Centre’s special education students are in an inclusion setting and take Regent classes with their mainstream peers. Are the former and current administrations going to argue that the inclusion Regents classes at South Side create tracking or are a source of social unrest?

Did the I.B. mandate cure the racial and economic segregation problem in our schools? I would argue that not much has changed. The Board of Education has heard from many parents about the money they spend on tutors to help their children get through the I.B. program. Did anyone of these “pioneers” arrange for tutors for these students of color, low-income children and some students with individualized education programs? No. They simply raised the bar and left them hanging. Today, the economic and academic makeup of those students who perform poorly in I.B. classes, end up in summer school, or don’t pass Regent exams at South Side are the same racial and economic demographic that the former administrators purport motivated them to enact the I.B. requirement.

What SEP and parents want are Regent-level English and history classes in 11th grade and to end the I.B. requirement. The English Regent class should be open to all students, which is a problem for the current administration that is fixated on statistics — it would reduce the number of general-education students in the I.B. program, thus reducing the I.B. enrollment and potentially I.B. diploma rates.

Is the district going to preclude providing a proper English Regent class open to all because it would impact its I.B. statistics? I certainly hope not. There are general-education students who would prefer to take a Regent English class. And nothing about a Regent class is “less than” a higher-level class. That is only the case if the administration believes it to be so and fails to create the curriculum, vision and challenges for the students in that class. Other high schools on Long Island that rank above South Side have Regent classes.

At a recent SEP meeting, Dr. Noreen Leahy, assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services and special education, stated that South Side is the only high school on Long Island that requires its special-education students to take those I.B. classes and applauded Dr. Johnson’s efforts. I would say that it was a lapse in judgment. It’s time that the Rockville Centre school district removes the I.B. requirement and provides Regent-level English and history classes for 11th-grade students.