Across the nation, parents are waking up to just how “woke” the American educational system has become and are getting involved on a scale that was unimaginable even a few, short years ago.
Once recent incident hit close to home. Patrick Henry High School is a San Diego area school that my step-daughter attended. My colleague Mike LaChance noted that it recently cut some honors classes without notice, all in the name of equity.
Angry parents quickly intervened.
On Thursday, the first listening session for Patrick Henry High School parents went beyond the slated 1-hour time frame.Parents were able to speak their minds after Principal Michelle Irwin decided to cut honors courses, then most recently put a pause on the decision.”We’re looking forward to hearing from you to make the best decisions for our students,” said Principal Irwin.Other than the introduction, Irwin made no remarks during the entire session Thursday night, many wanted to hear from her.”I’d like to know in this phone call, why Miss Irwin is not speaking to the parents because I wanted to hear from her, not to back up with everyone defending her. I’d like to know what pausing does for anyone including the students,” said parents on the call…[P]arents say cutting honors courses would make it even more challenging for kids trying to get into college.Cutting honors courses essentially caps the grade point average at “4.0” and parents say that’s not enough to be competitive.”My oldest just got in with a 4.5 GPA and she received a lot of money for her college because of her grade point average, now you’re taking that away from my other child at Henry because she’ll not be able to have that high GPA,” said one parent.
All of this outrage is valid. Based on my step-daughter’s experiences, her above 4.0 GPA allowed her to get into UCLA and she had enough credits to bypass courses and focus on her major.
Fortunately, for future Patrick Henry graduates, the decision has been reversed.
The principal of Patrick Henry High School is reversing course after parents and students rallied against the elimination of some honors classes.Principal Michelle Irwin’s decision followed a protest by hundreds of students in the quad Wednesday.“I didn’t receive enough feedback from parents and students and so, you know, after yesterday’s rally, I paused and thought, ‘Well, you know what, let’s ask more parents and students for their feedback and input,” Irwin said. “So that’s what we’re doing over the next couple of days; we’re holding some parent forums.”
One small win for San Diego parents, one big win for San Diego students.
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