LTHS Offers Far More Courses Than D-86 Schools: Watchdog

HINSDALE, IL — A watchdog who is pointing out the disparity in course offerings between Hinsdale Central and South high schools made another observation recently: Both schools are outpaced by Lyons Township High School.

The Burr Ridge watchdog, Alan Hruby, said that his analysis shows that Lyons Township offers more than 300 different courses. That compares to 170 at Hinsdale South and 251 at Hinsdale Central, he said.

In a recent YouTube video, Hruby noted a statement by Chris Jasculca, the spokesman for District 86, which runs Central and South. Jasculca was responding to Hruby's concerns that South doesn't get as much choice in classes.

"We continue to contend that this issue is not a product of enrollment or equity, but rather the fact that we offer too many courses at both schools," Jasculca said in a March email to Patch. "Having too many courses is one of the issues we are addressing through our work on curriculum alignment."

District 86 officials have said many of Central and South's classes duplicate one another.

By 2024, the district aims to unify the two schools' curriculums.

In his video, Hruby questioned how the district would accomplish that.

"Does the D-86 community really want its pathway to curriculum equity to be a common district curriculum reduced to about 170 courses at both schools because that is the size that South's 73 teachers can deliver," Hruby said. "Will the D-86 community be happy with that while our neighbor to the east is leveraging massive economies of scale for the benefit of all its students, offering them more than 300 courses."

Asked about Lyons Township's number, Chris Covino, District 86's assistant superintendent for academics, said Lyons has a "great reputation."

"I don't know how many courses they offer," Covino said. "I have not been in a conversation with their (academics) director on the course offerings."