Parents upset after California high school cuts honors classes for 'equity' reasons

SAN DIEGO (TND) — A California high school's decision to reduce honors classes for students reportedly has some parents in an uproar, with most saying they are against such changes to their children's education.Patrick Henry High School, said to be San Diego's largest high school, sent an email to parents saying the advanced classes were being removed due to "equity" reasons, according to KFMB News.In a document attached to the email, the principalMichelle Irwin reportedly pointed to the "racial disparity" between those advanced and non-advanced classes.As a faculty, we ground ourselves daily in our vision that every student will graduate with integrity, purpose and options. As a district, we embrace and promote inclusive learning environments. I can assure you we are creating an inclusive welcoming environment at Henry where all students will grow and thrive in all the courses we offer and be prepared for the day after high school in college or career," Principal Irwin wrote in the document's opening statement.Now, thanks to backlash, the school's plan to eliminate the honors courses is reportedly on pause.We do want to get more input from our parents and students before we make any definitive changes," Principal Irwin says, according to KFMB News.During an online meeting on Friday,San Diego Unified instructional support officer Jen Roberson spoke with parents who felt they hadn't been consulted in the school's decision, according to KPBS News, saying the meeting was an opportunity for her and other staff members to listen to parents' concerns.The idea that my son, who excels in math, excels in science, excels in all that he does, even performance, would somehow have to have his equality stolen from him in order to provide for somebody else and call that equality is just unbelievable," one parent namedLori Burke-Ellet reportedly said at the meeting.I don't think that there’s equity when you dumb down classes and lose the opportunities for those people, or those students, who have an opportunity to advance themselves out of whatever predicament that they’re in to have a better life later," another parent,Gavin Martinez, said at the meeting according to KPBS News.Students already staged a protest against the honors-class-cutting decision on Wednesday, walking out and skipping lunch to show their objection to the school's decision, KFMB reports.Admissions officers at universities and colleges want to see that students can handle such advanced classes, students reportedly claim, adding the grades they earn in those honors courses are more important than their overall high school GPAs.Melbourne Romney, a student at the school who started a petition against the class cancellations which has over 2,000 signatures, tells KFMB News he wants "clarification" on the decision to pause the elimination of the courses.We want some more clarification with how she's pausing it,” said Romney. “What she wants to doIt sounds like she used some ambiguous language.” Romney reportedly said to the news station.The lack of communication and discourse over the decision continues to be a point of contention for both students and parents. San Diego Unified instructional support officer Jen Roberson reportedly acknowledged this at Friday's meeting.Many of you on this call feel that your voices have not been heard. And so, for that, we apologize to each and every one of you, and we recognize that,” Roberson said according to KPBS News.Families of students who attend the school are still cautious about what is going to happen next, KFMB News says, even after the decision to remove the classes has been put on hold.There have not been any updates on the school's decision to pause eliminating the classes, but the school will be holding a "Site Governance Team (SGT) Meeting" on April 27 which will possibly focus on the issue.The purpose and function of SGT is to include teachers, students, parents, classified employees and administrators in the planning and shared decision-making process of the site, in order to support teaching and learning in the classroom," the school says on its website.