More D's, F's Among Hinsdale South's Black Students

DARIEN, IL – African American students at Hinsdale South High School are receiving more D's and F's than they did four years ago, the latest figures show.

As part of a larger presentation, officials showed data indicating that 30 percent of Black students' grades so far this year are either D's or F's. That compares to 23 percent in the 2018-19 school year.

During a school board meeting Thursday, member Jeff Waters asked about the "precipitous" increase in D's and F's among Hinsdale South's 223 African American students.

In response, Chris Covino, assistant superintendent of academics for Hinsdale High School District 86, said one of the reasons may be the ending of a policy giving at least 50 percent for all assignments, no matter how much work was done. He identified that as the one major policy change from last year.

Later in the meeting, South Principal Patrick Hardy said he was not sure if the board would like his answer. But he said he needed to give officials a "gentle nudge."

He said he disliked the practice of using the pandemic for dividing all of history. In this case, though, he said the pandemic needed to be cited as a reason for the drop, which he said has been seen across the country.

Even at the level of D's and F's among Black students four years ago, the school was aware of the problem, Hardy said.

"The pandemic exacerbated the problems we already knew existed," said Hardy, who took South's helm last summer.

During the pandemic, tutoring services reached out to families to keep their students' grades from dropping, he said. Many families hired them, but others could not afford such services.

At the time, Hardy said, African American families' struggles increased. So with the shutdowns, many of their high school children worked to help make ends meet, he said.

"They worked extra hours. They weren't going to tutoring," Hardy said.

The benefit of students working was that they were able to help their parents and grandparents, but the consequence was that their grades got no better during that time, he said.

"You did what you had to do, and we celebrate that," Hardy said.

He also said he was a "little nervous" to bring up another factor – African Americans have been walking away from public education for decades.

Parts of the Black community, Hardy said, are struggling to believe in public education when they do all they can to succeed but cannot get ahead because of policies and practices.

He said he didn't know how to address that issue, but he said district officials are working on it.

Waters said he appreciated Hardy's point about the pandemic "exacerbating" a problem that already existed, saying it "really hits the nail on the head."

During public comments, resident Yvonne Mayer, who often criticizes the district, praised Hardy. Calling him a "tremendous asset" to the district, she said he spoke with conviction and experience.

"It was powerful," Mayer said. "He shouldn't be afraid to speak to this board, our community, about what he thinks."