School Board Adds Two New GHS Graduation Requirements

At the first Board of Education meeting of the 2011-2012 school year last Thursday, two new graduation requirements for were approved for implementation.

A requirement to achieve a score of proficient or higher on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) Science assessment will take effect beginning with the Class of 2015, which is the incoming freshmen class.

In addition, the Board approved the requirement to have at least two credits of World Language in order to graduate. This requirement will take effect for the Class of 2016 or the 8^th grade class in 2011-2012.

The proposals were first brought to the Board during the June 2, 2011 Work Session and then again at the June 16, 2011 Business meeting at the end of the last school year.

The vote was part of the Consent Agenda, meaning the Board would normally vote on a variety of previously discussed or standard matters such as Board minutes in one vote. For this matter however, the votes were taken separately on each of the new requirements.

With Board member Natalie Queen not present at the meeting, the Board voted 7-0 to accept the new CAPT Science requirement and voted 6-1 on the new World Language requirement.

During the Public Hearing section of the meeting, GHS PTA Presidents Jennifer Meredith and Laura Erickson said that they "admire and support the inclusion of two new graduation requirements for GHS seniors."

The PTA Presidents said that "these two requirements reflect our core body of knowledge expectations and the world we live in today."

Lisa Beth Savitz, PTA Council President, asked that as the District implements the two new graduation requirements, the Board and the Administration should be mindful of "unintended consequences." Stating a respect for GHS Headmaster Chris Winters and his staff for "setting appropriate standards," she asked however that in order to properly implement the "genuine improvements, the teachers have the necessary resources, the students are prepared, and there is still enough room for choice" which she cited as "one of the unique strengths" of Greenwich High School.

Regarding the proposed science requirement, the rationale as presented to the Board explained that "currently, there is no minimum student performance on the CAPT Science exam as a graduation requirement." While the State of Connecticut does require proficiency or higher in reading, writing, and math, the District Administration believes that science should also be included since it is "a core academic subject and that scientific literacy is crucial to an educated member of society."

The District views the proficiency requirement as a commitment to "improvement on the science portion of CAPT." Noting this as a "priority" for GPS, the proposal also points out that a "vast majority of DRG A and DRG B schools have performance standards on science CAPT as a graduation requirement."

Implementation of the requirement will include steps and resources meant to ensure success. "Students not performing at or above the proficiency level after their sophomore year would be scheduled for academic support in science learning centers to help them prepare for the exam in their junior year."

This support will include teachers preparing specific materials for academic assistance. For those juniors not performing at or above the proficiency level, they will be required to develop a portfolio during their senior year to demonstrate their understanding and knowledge of science.

Meredith and Erickson pointed out that the "mechanism for students who do not meet the proficiency standard to develop a science portfolio to satisfy the requirement" allows for flexibility.

However, during the Board discussion of the new requirement Board member Peter Sherr expressed some surprise that there may be students who failed to meet the standard may in fact be allowed to graduate through this senior year “portfolio” process. Sherr queried whether this created an “out” for these students.

In response to the language requirement proposal, the GHS PTA Presidents said that  "almost 90% of GHS students already fulfill this requirement.”  They referenced our “heterogeneous society and the global economy” when stating that “language proficiency is a not a luxury.” The requirement will include exemptions for students with IEP’s and for English Language Learners who meet a state test standard.

In support of the proposal, the Administration pointed out that the State of Connecticut will have a two year language requirement for admission to state colleges and universities starting in 2015.

The Administration's review of student records showed that for the classes of 2008-2010, approximately 89% of GHS graduates would have had the requisite two credits, meaning 75-80 students would have failed to meet the requirements.

It went on to state that 74-81% of this group were students with disabilities who would have been exempt from the requirement if so specified in their Individual Education Plan (IEP.)

In addition, students who enter the 9^th grade who are English Language Learners may also have the option to waive the requirement.

Lastly, it was pointed out that the recently introduced Sign Language course would be considered a World Language and therefore would qualify.

Marianna Ponns Cohen was the sole vote against the World Language requirement explaining that the District “shouldn’t be adding requirements in big chunks." She also questioned if this was an attempt to roll out the International Baccalaureate program in the High School noting that other districts with IB have a similar requirement.

The next Board of Education meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 1 at the Board of Education building on Greemwich Avenue.