By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
Hybrid cars might be a current trend in the automotive industry, but according to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board, hybrid classes are a trend that shouldn’t exist.
Despite support from former Superintendent Neil Pedersen, in December 2010 the school board voted against hybrid classes – a model in which honors and standard-level courses are taught together. However, two schools in the district, East Chapel Hill High and Carrboro High schools, didn’t get the message.
Jamezetta Bedford, school board chair, said she received an email in August from an unhappy parent of a student who was enrolled in a hybrid biology class at East Chapel Hill High.
Bedford was unaware that East Chapel Hill High was teaching hybrid classes, and the school board had explicitly voted against them. When the board looked into it, they discovered that Carrboro High was also still offering hybrid classes.
“There has been a very big communication snafu,†Bedford said, explaining that communication to the schools had not been clear enough on the issue.
“The teachers meant well and they weren’t doing anything deliberately wrong, but the principal should’ve known better,†she said.
For the past year, Carrboro High has been offering hybrid ninth-grade English 1 and World History classes, combining students and curriculum from honors and standard-level courses.
Bedford said she was made aware that Carrboro High was teaching these classes during the 2010-11 school year last October, but felt it was too late in the school year to ask them to remove the classes.
Additionally, Bedford said teachers at Carrboro High were unaware the school board was unhappy, because Pederson was praising their work.
Carrboro High continued to offer hybrid classes this year, and the school board and new Superintendent Tom Forcella spoke with the principal and communicated that by teaching these courses the school is in direct violation of the school board’s decision.
Although they have been told to quit teaching the courses and switch to the approved separate standard- and honors-level courses, the teachers at Carrboro High continue to teach them.
Mary Beth Braker, an English 1 and 3 teacher at Carrboro High, said teachers are frustrated about the communication breakdown, but don’t feel they should be forced to change.
“It is not in the best interest of our students. It is not their fault and it is not our fault a chain of command was broken, and it definitely doesn’t seem like that is a legitimate reason to disturb the schedules and lives of our freshman students,†she said.
Bedford said Forcella was careful in considering the impact that changing schedules would have on the students, and he determined it would be minimal.
The teachers at Carrboro High disagree. They say the impending changes have already caused anxiety among parents and students, and many have expressed concern about the elimination of the courses.
Beyond rescheduling difficulties, teachers say there are moral and ethical issues involved.
Jan Gottschalk, the journalism teacher at Carrboro High, believes that by creating separate honors- and standard-level courses, the school will be segregating its students.
“Unfortunately, when you have the great divide between honors- and standard-level classes, you wind up with kids of color dominating the standard level,†Gottschalk said.
The teachers believe the current program removes the issue of segregation and allows students to challenge themselves with a higher level of thinking.
Al Donaldson, English department chair at Carrboro High, also opposes the idea of removing the hybrid classes.
“This is part of a whole school plan, which, frankly, is driven by the state and the intentions of our board members and district leadership to create a school that actively is anti-racist and anti-classist, and in fact is determined to make a commitment to every kid learning at the highest level,†Donaldson said.
Bedford said she believes that the principals at both ECHHS and CHS are in the process of implementing the changes.
Thank you for bringing this important issue to the front. It seems that our school board is forcing the change despite evidence that it is harmful at CHS. We are very sad and worried about the harm to our students. We intend to continue our study into the ‘hybrid’ model regardless of what changes are forced at this time. We look forward to active study and broad communication as we move forward. We know the Citizen can be part of encouraging this dialogue. Thank you! Mary