- Did you know the "College Prep" classes at CHS are at the lowest academic level at CHS?
- Did you know that the College Prep classes generally do not prepare students to be proficient?
- Did you know that about 3 of 5 students in the College Prep are African American?
- Did you know that the principal of CHS has called for the elimination of the College Prep classes?
- Did you know that the classes called "Enriched" generally do prepare students to be proficient or advanced?
Do you want your child in the College Prep classes at CHS?
2 comments:
College Prep sounds good and is named to dupe people into believing that it is an above average curriculum. As an African American mom in the district I have felt that part of the problem with the achievement gap is the way the children are differentiated by race. For example, I found that in third and fourth grade when African American history is introduced to all the students it is not helping but hurting. The way the information is given is damaging because it is negative and gives no context with the information. This causes Black children to feel inferior and the opposite affect is that White children feel superior. It is very subtle but effective especially to those African American children who are already living in less than suitable conditions. I have tried to bring this up to a 6th grade teacher and she offered me the excuse that she does not create the curriculum and that she only teaches it.
People often blame the parents for the achievement gap but I believe that as much as the district talks about diversity it would see that it is not working to close the gap. On the flip side the parents of white students could be blamed as well. Just because diversity is attempted at school does not mean it is taught at home. That white child grows up to be a teacher who has the same preconceived notions about African Americans that their parents had. Thus continuing the legacy and failing all of our children.
The facts about college prep state that 3 out of 5 students in college prep are African American. Why is this considered differentiation by race when statistics show the demographics for the district in 2008 were 48.4% white and 39.3% Black? Also, the amount of Black History taught has increased tremendously during my 18 years in this district, at the expense of other areas of history. My oldest son has been assigned three projects over the years on the Harlem Renaissance. However, the European Renaissance has never been introduced. Furthermore, my children have always come home with a positive message about Black History. I can't help but wonder about the veracity of the statements made by "Mellon".
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