Barrington Parents Object Scrapping Of Honors English, History

BARRINGTON, RI — Several Barrington High School parents have spoken out against the district for its eliminating of English and social studies honors programs next school year.

Parents learned about this decision earlier this month in an email from Barrington High School Principal Joseph Hurley.

"Please note that when selecting classes for next year, Social Studies will return to its original course selection prior to the 2021-2022 school year which did not include an Honors Distinction option," Hurley wrote in an email to parents. "English will now be offering one heterogenous course in both grades 9 and 10, with no Honors Distinction or Honors option being offered at any grade level."

Honors classes were already not offered this school year for English and social studies classes, but students had the option to complete an independent project to earn an honors distinction. Under the new plan, that distinction will no longer be offered.

"Parents are really upset because there’s been no discussion about it,” parent Devyn Smith told WPRI 12. "It’s clear the system has worked really well for this school district and they’ve been really successful in the past."

School officials on the district's website said the changes to the honors program don't change the rigor of the courses being offered. Officials said more students will now have an opportunity to be challenged academically.

"We are confident that our approach to the restructuring rollout will not remove opportunities for students who were in traditional honors classes leading up to the 2021-2022 school year," school officials said. "Maintaining the rigor of curricular programming, while supporting the social emotional needs of our students, frames our focus. Importantly, not only does this shift not remove opportunities for those in honors, it increases opportunities for all students. Evidence shows that increasing access to honors-level content can have the effect of raising achievement for all students, including higher-performing students."

But some parents argued the change makes students' transcripts less competitive for college applications. Parent Anna Amoiradaki told the Providence Journal she pulled her child out of Barrington Public Schools this year and sent him to La Salle Academy in Providence.

"Honors classes allowed faster-paced students to be challenged," Amoiradaki told the Providence Journal. "None of the high-performing schools in Rhode Island have taken away honors. In the future, our graduates will not have high school transcripts competitive with their peers elsewhere."

The Barrington School Committee was scheduled to discuss the class restructuring Monday, but the meeting was postponed, because one of the committee members contracted COVID-19.