Unequal Opportunities At South And Central: Critic

DARIEN, IL — Hinsdale South High School's principal recently accused the school district's critics of putting out a "false narrative" that the district is shortchanging students of opportunities. Now, one of the school system's leading critics is returning the charge.

Last weekend, Burr Ridge resident Alan Hruby posted a YouTube video questioning the Hinsdale High School District 86's arguments that South is treated fairly compared to Hinsdale Central. Hruby and others contend that because South's enrollment is about half the size of Central's, the district offers South students a considerably smaller selection of classes.

Hruby put out the video in response to South Principal Arwen Pokorny Lyp's "false narrative" comment in a recent interview with Patch.

In the video, Hruby said he looked at last semester's class schedules for South and Central to see which classes common to both schools' programs of study were being offered. According to his analysis, South offered just one class — Advanced Placement Music Theory — that Central did not. Central, meanwhile, offered 17 classes that South did not, including World Literature, Computer Science Topics, Etymology, AP Physics 2, Philosophy, Investment Planning, AP Macroeconomics, Invitation to Teaching and Entrepreneurial Studies.

Hruby said he looked at all the classes included in the programs of study, beyond those that are common to both schools. He counted 73 courses unique to Central and 45 unique to South.

In response, the district's spokesman, Chris Jasculca, disagreed with two of the 17 classes on the list for Central. He said South alternates between microeconomics and macroeconomics and that it offers Invitation to Teaching. He also pointed out some of the classes unique to South, including American Sign Language 2, AP German, Advanced Woods, Anatomy and Physiology, and Humanities.

"We want to clarify that the courses we are talking about are electives," Jasculca said in an email. "While we value the important role these courses play in the education of our students, we want to make sure people understand that the discussion we are having is not about core or capstone courses."

The district, he said, has actively promoted availability of classes at South, including a newspaper course, and has had to cancel them because of a lack of student interest. He said the district attributes that to the "wealth of options" already offered.

Jasculca, the communications director, noted the district's strategic plan, which aims to align the curricula and course offerings at the two schools by 2024.

In an email to Patch, Hruby cast aside the district's arguments. He said the 17 classes offered only at Central last semester were among the group of courses that were on both schools' program of studies.

"Mr Jasculca's falsification is an attempt to distract attention from authentic curriculum inequities between the schools in courses that should be offered today at both schools," Hruby said.

He said Jasculca wanted to "hijack" the curriculum inequity discussion by talking about aligning Central's 74 unique courses with South's 45, which will take until 2024.

"Here is the inconvenient truth that he does not want to talk about, the truth that the public needs to know," Hruby said. "There were 17 District 86 courses that should have been, but were not, held at South last semester. They were offered at Central and were in both schools' programs of study. A lack of their alignment is not an excuse. They already are in alignment. This is not a 2024 issue. This is a 2020 issue that needs to be fixed now."

Hruby points to a section of the state's administrative code, which says a school district must provide equal opportunities in all programs and services provided by the system. He said opportunities should not be governed by a student's address.

"It was not that long ago that the District 86 board used 'insufficient demand at South' as the rationale for denying courses there while simultaneously choking off sufficient enrollment that would have enabled curriculum equity to thrive," Hruby said.

According to a recent Patch analysis, District 86's overall enrollment jumped by more than 20 percent over the last three decades, to 4,148. In the late 1980s and throughout much of the 1990s, almost half of the district's students attended South. Now, a little more than a third do. Virtually all the growth in enrollment went to Central. As of last school year, Central's enrollment was 2,726, nearly double South's 1,420.

By the standard metrics, the two schools are superior to most others in the state. But Central's demographic is considerably wealthier. At South, 27 percent of students come from low-income families, far lower than the state's average of 49 percent but notably higher than Central's 6 percent, according to the Illinois Report Card.

Hruby said South's staff is doing the best it can, given the circumstances created by the school board.

"What kind of Board of Education not only denies equal education opportunities to its students, but also forces its staff to do administrative somersaults so that it can cater to special interests that want to adhere to cost-ineffective, antiquated boundaries which create the enrollment imbalances that in turn are at the root of the curriculum inequities," he said in the email.

Jasculca disagreed.

"While we understand the perspective that some members of our community have shared regarding this issue, we simply do not agree with the notion that enrollment size or the quantity of courses offered equates to a better learning experience for students," he said.

Jasculca said South students have always benefited from a well-rounded education provided by "outstanding" teachers.

"They also enjoy additional opportunities to take part in co-curriculars and athletics," he said. "In fact, South has the most athletic programs of any school of its size in the state of Illinois."