Students, parents outraged after high school cuts Advanced Placement and honors courses

RIGBY — Jefferson School District 251’s decision to cancel all of its Advanced Placement and honors English courses starting next year is stirring controversy in Rigby for the impact on students preparing for college.

“I have been given an amazing environment inside the advanced program, and it’s given me a place to be able to grow to be more successful and to have better habits because the people around me are also encouraging me to do that,” said 11th-grader Anna Moon to EastIdahoNews.com.

The district will continue to offer dual-enrollment courses — “allowing students to simultaneously earn college credit and high school credit” — but will be eliminating AP Biology, AP English, Honors Algebra II, along with the advanced English courses in ninth and 10th grade, the district’s Director of Secondary Education Sherry Simmons wrote in an e-mail.

In response to questions from EastIdahoNews.com, Superintendent Chad Martin provided a letter signed by Rigby High School Principal Bryan Lords explaining the rationale behind the change in direction. The letter was sent out to district parents on Friday.

“We have now determined that the best way to ensure all students receive a consistent and comprehensive curriculum is to guarantee that every student first receives core instruction,” Lords wrote. “For those students who seek advanced material, we will provide additional opportunities to explore the standards more deeply.”

Rigby High School students protest

Twenty students protested the changes at a Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 12.

A petition on Change.org entitled “We need AP!! College isn’t free” gathered 448 signatures by Wednesday, primarily from students at Rigby High School.

In a four-page letter to EastIdahoNews.com, 10th-grader Nathan Anderson wrote, “As soon as I started Advanced English, I learned brand new ways to write essays and was taught to express my ideas in better ways than before. When I visited regular English classes, I noticed the difference: students were there out of obligation, while my Advanced class exhibited focus and determination to excel and absorb knowledge.”

At the school board meeting, the students said they were not permitted to speak because the removal of AP and advanced courses was not included on the agenda.

“Jefferson School District 251 has made the decision to remove all advanced English programs and move to ‘differentiation’ in order to condense classroom sizes,” 11th-grader Shane Hall wrote in an e-mail on Feb. 12. “Administrators say advanced curriculum will be offered as a supplemental lesson and students can earn an honors certificate for doing extra work. In spite of public opposition, district administration continues to say that they think this change will best for all students. … We have only found out about the policy changes through teacher leaks.”

Jefferson School District response

Martin said that he stayed and spoke with the students for 90 minutes following the meeting to discuss and listen to their concerns.

“The decision to change the manner in which advanced classes are offered is not an item that the board would make a decision on, this is a building administration decision,” Martin wrote to EastIdahoNews.com. “The board approves curriculum and policy, but not implementation and practice.”

District officials said the move aligned with the preferences of many of its students.

“Over time, we have observed that students tend to prefer dual enrollment classes over AP classes, so moving forward students who wish to do so can still take the AP exam, but instead of taking a designated AP class, 11th graders will now have the opportunity to enroll in a college-level class that offers college credit,” Lords wrote.

Rigby students will now be able to enroll in dual-enrollment English classes as juniors or seniors to receive university credit through College of Southern Idaho.

Continuing controversy

But those credits often do not transfer to universities outside of Idaho and some schools in Utah, said Rigby parent Samantha Wescott, who said the moves were a cost-saving measure.

The district also expressed concerns that some advanced English ninth- and 10th-grade students tested below proficiency on certain exams.

“We found that some advanced students struggled to pass the same test given to students in regular English classes,” Lords wrote. “This does not reflect the students’ capabilities but rather points to a gap in the way the advanced curriculum addresses the essential standards for English 9 and 10.”

However, Wescott said some advanced students didn’t perform as well because they’d been assigned different reading material than students in the regular English courses.

Students countered that eliminating AP courses will prevent them from receiving the proper preparation needed to succeed and excel on the AP exam.

More than 200 students are enrolled in AP and advanced English at the high school, said one teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rigby High School has about 2,200 students.

Placing advanced students in normal courses is like coaching the varsity basketball team and forcing them to practice with general population students who have not specialized in that discipline or sport, Wescott said.

“They’ve waited for years to be able to have the right to be in classes with kids that are high achievers like they are,” she said. “And so these kids are really frustrated.”

But the district argues the changes present a more equal playing field for all students.

“We will continue working closely with the English department to ensure that all students receive a guaranteed and effective curriculum that meets the essential standards, while also providing those who wish to pursue advanced instruction with additional opportunities,” Lords wrote.

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