UPDATE: New CHS Guidance Director Uses Access & Equity Plan to Force my Daughter to Stay in AP Class

Last spring, my eager daughter - now a senior - signed up for Calculus BC instead of Calculus AB. These are both AP classes and according to the College Board (which administers all AP classes), Calc AB is the equivalent of one semester of college calculus whereas Calc BC is the equivalent of a full year of college calculus. I know it's an alphabet soup, but here's the point: BC is twice as demanding.

Within the first week of classes, my daughter realized that she couldn't keep up with Calc BC and asked her teacher if she should and could transfer to AB. He agreed. She went to the guidance department and they said that all she needed is a note from me. I wrote the note. This was on Wednesday of the first full week of school. On Thursday, she was told that the new director of guidance refused to allow her to transfer.

My kid is being FORCED to stay in a class that she has asked to transfer out of and that she can't keep up with, although there is a readily available class that is a better fit. She's being forced to get a poor grade in BC rather than a better grade in AB, or she drops math entirely in her senior year!

My kid has never once asked to transfer out of any other class before. Ever. She has 3 - count 'em, three - completely unasked-for study hall periods this year, so her schedule could easily be adjusted. She and her sister have a weekly math tutor, so I'm already providing her with extra support. And she made her request within the first week of school - but after the first three days of classes, which is the only time kids are given a chance to request changes.

In the two phone conversations I've had with the head of guidance, she said that my kid has no choice: she either has to stay in Calc BC or drop math entirely in her senior year. When I asked why, she claimed that it's because of the Access & Equity Plan.

According to her, the plan blocks any and all requests to level down. She made some (incredibly patronizing) arguments that in her 30 years of experience, she's often seen kids who feel overwhelmed by a hard class at the start but then grow into it. (Not my kid - she's never asked to switch out of a hard class.)

So my kid is screwed. That really sucks.

But here's why it should matter to all parents - especially those who care truly about giving all our kids a shot at succeeding at CHS: THIS IS SETTING KIDS UP FOR FAILURE.

We're pushing all kids to sign up for the hardest possible classes - so CHS can look good for the record - and then we're refusing to allow them to make reasonable adjustments. When they fail, how easy it will be to say, "Oh see, they really just aren't good enough for these rigorous classes. For their own good, let's go back to restricting access."

What do you all think? Am I crazy to be so pissed?

Escalate to the principal. This is nuts !!

librarylady said:

Escalate to the principal. This is nuts !!

I agree.

blianderson said:

librarylady said:

Escalate to the principal. This is nuts !!

I agree.

time to speak with Ms. Aaron.

Absolutely take it up to Ms. Aaron, and the BOE if needed. I don't believe that the policy, as described to you, is the policy that the BOE wanted to pass, and I'm deeply concerned if that is how our Guidance department is interpreting it.

Everything I've hear about the new guidance director sounds as if she is draconian and completely inflexible. Guidance counselors used to be able to make changes on their own. Now they have to justify every single change and wait for her approval, making students who do get approved get even more behind in their new classes. She is disapproving many changes against teachers recommendations.

Not a defense, but a possible explanation: A&E no doubt raised concerns that a number of students would quickly regret a choice and want to drop down, which, if widespread, could create a fair amount of disruption at the start of the year.

Such a blanket policy would also pre-empt reasonable and easy fixes like your daughter's, and could discourage students from taking on challenges that A&E is meant to encourage. As I said, not a defense.

When in doubt go above their heads.

I wonder if this explains why my 9th grader had her schedule changed around on day 1 to get her into a study skills class to then have it changed/removed again 4 days later. Taking away the study skills class that caused the first change because her guidance counselor told her that it wasn't in her IEP (only kids w it in their IEP get the class apparently). So first off, why did they make the change in the first place and second, it IS in her IEP. so now I have to get them to give the class back to her!

and I agree with the others, keep going up the ladder. Good luck!

Robert_Casotto said:

When in doubt go above their heads.

And if they give you any problem at all go to the top person. Demand a meeting with the Superintendent.

Holy escalation, Batman.

Just write a polite note to Ms. Aaron (cc: Dr. Ramos) explaining the situation and that you are sure it is a misunderstanding that can be speedily resolved without having to bring these concerns to the attention of the BOE. The Administration can draw their own conclusions about the head of the guidance department.

Actually, the original posting in this thread is pretty good. Just remove anything judgmental about the head of guidance even if it is warranted.

Take this directly to the Principal and continue going up the ladder until you get the answer you need. If the District wrote the policy so that no one can move down, then it's a terrible policy and needs to be changed.

I have little faith in the CHS Guidance Department.

Hoo boy.

I would think the teacher who is teaching the class who agreed to the transfer would know better than the head of guidance to what is needed. Your opening post also implies someone in guidance (the counselor?) had no issue, the issue showing up when the head of guidance put down her foot.

This is definitely an issue to bring to the principal. You should point out the teacher who is teaching the course feels a transfer is warranted.

One reason we have principals is to resolve issues like this.

It is possible there is a district policy. But exceptions can be made. However, if the principal says her hands are tied by policy then you need to escalate to the BofE. The argument is that you, your child and the teacher teaching the course feel its educationally best to transfer and a rigid policy should not be used to deny her education.

ps - I had an issue in HS where I wanted a course. It was OK with the teacher but the assistant principal said no. I went to the principal. It was resolved within 15 minutes.

I hope that you find success in moving your daughter down. As a former CHS student ('07) - I can say that I benefited greatly from moving down - a little over a quarter in too. I was in the accelerated math program and eventually realized that I was not cut out for the level 5 program. After consulting my parents and teachers I went to guidance and asked to be switched from (at the time) math level 10-5 to 11-4 after really struggling my first quarter. After making the move - which kept me in the same course, albeit at a lower difficulty, I excelled. And, like your daughter I was not cut out for BC - but luckily I was aware of that earlier and opted for AB at the start. As I'm not familiar with the policy you reference, I imagine it was put in place after my time, but it shouldn't punish students like your daughter, or me in my time. If anything, your daughter should be applauded for both trying to push her boundaries with Calc BC AND recognizing when she can't succeed. If anything I learned more from admitting that I couldn't cut it at the higher level than I ever could have learned from failing at that level.

If I understood her correctly, Ms. Aaron's opening remarks at Back to School Night tonight suggested that in general, students will be expected to give it a go for a quarter, with extra academic support if they need it, before dropping down.

DaveSchmidt said:

If I understood her correctly, Ms. Aaron's opening remarks at Back to School Night tonight suggested that in general, students will be expected to give it a go for a quarter, with extra academic support if they need it, before dropping down.

I hope you understood wrong.

Too bad for ones who need to move, likely having had their quarter wasted. And when they get moved they'll have missed a quarter of their needed leveled class.

Seems cavalier.

Not sure how I feel about sacrificing a quarter for a noble, but ultimately self-defeating, idea. It's funny-- we've spent years grappling with concerns (valid and not) about moving up, and now we're dealing with similar issues in reverse regarding moving down. If we can't be fluid about these things, we shouldn't be doing them.

Should it be a blanket policy? No, because there may be students who made a mistake and are in too deep over their heads from the start. But a policy saying that those are exceptions, that efforts to get students up to speed deserve a marking period to show progress? I can understand that.

If a drop is still wanted after a quarter, I'm less inclined than some others to assume the time was likely wasted. Honest question, @aoleary: Do you think you would have learned what you did about admitting you couldn't cut it at a higher level if you had opted out after just a couple of weeks?

Thank you to all for a helpful and balanced discussion. I've followed advice and reached out to Ms. Aaron and Dr. Ramos. A couple of points regarding some of your thoughts: my daughter didn't need a couple of weeks to figure out that she was in over her head - she knew and made her request within a couple of days. This was - to her - a black and white situation. And again, she has never before asked to change a class. This isn't a kid who's scared of challenges.

And about forcing kids to go through the first quarter before being allowed to level down? My daughter is a senior. Guess which math grade will go to colleges?

Please tell us how this gets resolved. It is troubling to think that access and equity are being used as a reason for less flexibility .

I think that forcing students to wait a quarter is questionable for a few reasons:

1. In some topics like math, where the content is particularly cumulative, being in over your head may cause academic damage that is very hard to undo in later quarters. I've seen that the highest level math classes at CHS are sometimes taught in a style that requires the student to be very good at figuring things out for him/her self, and some students can see rather quickly that it simply isn't going to fit their learning style (as happened for my child).

2. As others have said, grades matter quite a bit to some of our students, depending on where they plan to apply to college. Making it extremely hard to change levels works against asking them to try harder levels.

3. It is simply disrespectful to our more mature students to tell them that they should not assess what is right for them and advocate for it

4. A policy that says no, and then gives in to those who advocate for exceptions most effectively, is a policy that is biased toward to higher levels of success for the students and families who are most experienced and comfortable with fighting the system, which will typically bias the playing field toward the students with more affluent, educated and native-born parents.

5. Guidance by mandate rather than discussion isn't guidance. I can't see why we should pay guidance counselors if we are going to work by inflexible rules rather than thoughtful discussion and assessment.

Fair points, susan1014. One thought regarding No. 2: Wanting to take on challenges at higher levels and worrying about a lower grade are two paths that can be hard to reconcile.

susan1014 said:


4. A policy that says no, and then gives in to those who advocate for exceptions most effectively, is a policy that is biased toward to higher levels of success for the students and families who are most experienced and comfortable with fighting the system, which will typically bias the playing field toward the students with more affluent, educated and native-born parents.

You raise five excellent points. Number 4 is, unfortunately, the reality of dealing with public schools, since there is and always will be a scarcity of resources. It's not fair, and it's not right, but it is reality. It is all the more reason that schools be lenient in cases like this.

@DaveSchmidt - I personally needed the extra time to learn my lesson, but that isn't the case for everyone. My parents advocated for staying in the course longer as well because they worried that I was dropping it to avoid facing a challenge. But there were big differences between this case and mine that might make changing courses earlier a wiser decision. My example took place during my freshman year (and again my sophomore year after I tried going back to the higher level course) when the focus on an individual quarter's grades wasn't nearly as high as it is in the college application crunch time. The other big shift is that as specified originally BC and AB calculus don't cover all the same material. A quarter spent trying to play catch up in BC could create a big gap in learning that would make switching to AB all but impossible. Another difference is that in AP courses there are the tests at the end of the year, and a quarter of not being taught what will be on a specific test could result in a lower score, something that might impact potential college credit being applied. I believe that there is definitely merit to the idea of sticking it out and facing some challenges, but at the end of the day for me the important thing was eventually learning the material.

Thanks for the response. And to clarify, my comments have mostly been about the policy in general (and possible reasons for it) and not specifically about Rivoli's case, the merits of which have been roundly acknowledged.

ETA: Also, thanks for the @. I think that's the first time it ever got me an email alert, either under the older MOL format or any updates before the latest one. (Or maybe I just wasn't tagged that often.)

@susan1014 thanks for your thoughtful assessment. Points # 3 and 5: Yes! The new CHS policy actually blocks guidance counselors from doing a good job. Point #4 is the scary one: as of now, CHS continues to refuse my daughter's request to level down. But if they did let her do this before the end of Q1, it would only be because I had the time and resources to make a public stink about it.

I totally agree that our kids should take on challenges without worrying about grades. But you could probably count on one hand the number of kids taking AP Calc who aren't applying to college. So the first quarter grades of senior year have to be important to them.

From Ms. Aaron's remarks on Back to School Night, courtesy of The Village Green:

The new Access and Equity Policy was intended to allow students to select courses at the level of academic rigor of their choice. Now that school is underway it is important that we utilize all of the available resources to support students in their selected level. We are in the process of establishing guidelines that would allow a student to discuss the advantages and/or disadvantages of moving down a level after the first marking period. Please realize that just as budgeting, staffing, teacher certification, classroom size and facilities all impacted scheduling, the same holds true when we explore possible options of moving down a level. Resources are limited. If a student is unable to move down a level, additional supports will be provided within the classroom setting. These guidelines will be reviewed, modified and updated on a regular basis as we continue to move forward with the implementation of the new Access and Equity Policy.

What in the world does it mean to say "additional supports will be provided within the classroom setting"?

It's clear the District did not think through the entire equity policy before implementation. Aaron's remarks reveal there is no plan for how to move students down a level. The focus was clearly on how to move kids up to a new level.