slothe
2023-07-17 01:27:20 UTC
Parents in Cambridge are speaking out after algebra was cut from middle
school
Decision was made years ago due to racial disparities in advanced
placement
But parents say it boosts inequality by forcing the use of private tutors
Parents in a Massachusetts school district are expressing their
disappointment over a years-old decision to eliminate advanced placement
for math in middle school.
Cambridge Public Schools began phasing out advanced math courses in grades
six through eight around 2017, when district officials noticed sharp
racial disparities in the program.
Students who were being placed in the advanced math track were
overwhelmingly white and Asian, while the lower-level courses were filled
primarily with black and Latino students, the Boston Globe reported on
Friday.
As a result of the change, and following further complications from the
pandemic, none of the district's four middle schools offer Algebra I,
which some parents say is actually exacerbating inequality by limiting
advanced math to those who can afford private tutors.
'The students who are able to jump into a higher level math class [in high
school] are students from better-resourced backgrounds,' Jacob Barandes, a
district parent and a Harvard physicist, told the Globe.
'They're shortchanging a significant number of students, overwhelmingly
students from less-resourced backgrounds, which is deeply inequitable.'
Another parent, Martin Udengaard, told the outlet he is pulling his son
out of the district and weighing whether to homeschool the child or send
him to a private school offering Algebra 1 in the eighth grade.
The parents expressed concerns that, without Algebra 1 in middle school,
their children would be forced to cram a compressed math course load in
high school to reach advanced courses such as calculus.
The origin of the decision to remove advanced math is murky, with one
former school board member saying that the original goal was for every
eighth grader to take Algebra 1.
'Algebra by eighth grade was voted upon many times over the past 30
years,' wrote Patty Nolan, a current Cambridge city councillor and former
school board member, in a May letter to the Cambridge Day.
'And unless I am mistaken, the School Committee has not rescinded its many
votes that algebra for every eighth-grader is a goal.'
In a 2019, Edutopia reported that district officials were concerned that
students were being profiled and placed in advanced or lower-level courses
on the basis of race.
'Over time you end up with lower-level math courses filled with black and
Latino children, and high-level math classes with white and Asian
children,' Manuel Fernandez, then the principal at Cambridge Street Upper
School, told the outlet.
'Students internalize itthey believe the smart kids are the white kids.
Our staff said we cannot continue to divide our students this way.'
Schools Superintendent Victoria Greer told the Globe that she and other
district leaders are working on plans to add more elements of advanced
math to the middle school curriculum
'We have a huge focus on addressing both the academic achievement gaps and
the opportunity gaps in our community,' she said. 'One thing the district
is not interested in doing is perpetuating those gaps.'
Greer and the members of Cambridge's school board, known as the School
Committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from
DailyMail.com on Saturday evening.
Cambridge is not the only school district to eliminate advanced courses in
an attempt to address racial disparities.
Schools in San Francisco and Escondido, California have also eliminated
math tracking, or the practice of placing students on different course
tracks of varying difficulty.
Critics of tracking argue that it promotes inequity, noting that because
school performance is highly correlated with socioeconomic status, initial
placement on a track and subsequent performance could result in class
rosters segregated by income and race.
They say that all students are better served when classrooms reflect a mix
of both social backgrounds and academic ability levels.
It is not the first time that Cambridge Public Schools, located in a
wealthy and left-leaning town that is home to Harvard University, has made
headlines.
In 2017, a CPS librarian publicly rejected a donation of Dr. Seuss
children's books from then-First Lady Melania Trump, calling the books
'racist' and 'cliched'.
The first lady had offered sets of the books to one district in each state
for National Read a Book Day.
In a blog post the school librarian called Dr. Seuss a 'tired and worn
ambassador for children's literature' and said his illustrations are
'steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.'
At the time, the district said the post represented her personal opinions
and 'was not a formal acceptance or rejection of donated books.'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/outrage-as-woke-school-board-axes-
advanced-math-classes-for-being-too-white-and-asian/ar-
AA1dV8Gm?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=69d3c92554a44554b2c987f929409709&ei=12
school
Decision was made years ago due to racial disparities in advanced
placement
But parents say it boosts inequality by forcing the use of private tutors
Parents in a Massachusetts school district are expressing their
disappointment over a years-old decision to eliminate advanced placement
for math in middle school.
Cambridge Public Schools began phasing out advanced math courses in grades
six through eight around 2017, when district officials noticed sharp
racial disparities in the program.
Students who were being placed in the advanced math track were
overwhelmingly white and Asian, while the lower-level courses were filled
primarily with black and Latino students, the Boston Globe reported on
Friday.
As a result of the change, and following further complications from the
pandemic, none of the district's four middle schools offer Algebra I,
which some parents say is actually exacerbating inequality by limiting
advanced math to those who can afford private tutors.
'The students who are able to jump into a higher level math class [in high
school] are students from better-resourced backgrounds,' Jacob Barandes, a
district parent and a Harvard physicist, told the Globe.
'They're shortchanging a significant number of students, overwhelmingly
students from less-resourced backgrounds, which is deeply inequitable.'
Another parent, Martin Udengaard, told the outlet he is pulling his son
out of the district and weighing whether to homeschool the child or send
him to a private school offering Algebra 1 in the eighth grade.
The parents expressed concerns that, without Algebra 1 in middle school,
their children would be forced to cram a compressed math course load in
high school to reach advanced courses such as calculus.
The origin of the decision to remove advanced math is murky, with one
former school board member saying that the original goal was for every
eighth grader to take Algebra 1.
'Algebra by eighth grade was voted upon many times over the past 30
years,' wrote Patty Nolan, a current Cambridge city councillor and former
school board member, in a May letter to the Cambridge Day.
'And unless I am mistaken, the School Committee has not rescinded its many
votes that algebra for every eighth-grader is a goal.'
In a 2019, Edutopia reported that district officials were concerned that
students were being profiled and placed in advanced or lower-level courses
on the basis of race.
'Over time you end up with lower-level math courses filled with black and
Latino children, and high-level math classes with white and Asian
children,' Manuel Fernandez, then the principal at Cambridge Street Upper
School, told the outlet.
'Students internalize itthey believe the smart kids are the white kids.
Our staff said we cannot continue to divide our students this way.'
Schools Superintendent Victoria Greer told the Globe that she and other
district leaders are working on plans to add more elements of advanced
math to the middle school curriculum
'We have a huge focus on addressing both the academic achievement gaps and
the opportunity gaps in our community,' she said. 'One thing the district
is not interested in doing is perpetuating those gaps.'
Greer and the members of Cambridge's school board, known as the School
Committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from
DailyMail.com on Saturday evening.
Cambridge is not the only school district to eliminate advanced courses in
an attempt to address racial disparities.
Schools in San Francisco and Escondido, California have also eliminated
math tracking, or the practice of placing students on different course
tracks of varying difficulty.
Critics of tracking argue that it promotes inequity, noting that because
school performance is highly correlated with socioeconomic status, initial
placement on a track and subsequent performance could result in class
rosters segregated by income and race.
They say that all students are better served when classrooms reflect a mix
of both social backgrounds and academic ability levels.
It is not the first time that Cambridge Public Schools, located in a
wealthy and left-leaning town that is home to Harvard University, has made
headlines.
In 2017, a CPS librarian publicly rejected a donation of Dr. Seuss
children's books from then-First Lady Melania Trump, calling the books
'racist' and 'cliched'.
The first lady had offered sets of the books to one district in each state
for National Read a Book Day.
In a blog post the school librarian called Dr. Seuss a 'tired and worn
ambassador for children's literature' and said his illustrations are
'steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.'
At the time, the district said the post represented her personal opinions
and 'was not a formal acceptance or rejection of donated books.'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/outrage-as-woke-school-board-axes-
advanced-math-classes-for-being-too-white-and-asian/ar-
AA1dV8Gm?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=69d3c92554a44554b2c987f929409709&ei=12