Students will find some interesting changes to the course selection offerings for the 2010-2011 school year. First, and perhaps foremost, is the introduction of Academies to Sherwood. Also, On-Level English 11 will not be included in the course offerings for next year; instead, all rising juniors will select either Honors or AP. And yet another noteworthy change: the school will be offering AP NSL for incoming freshmen.
Each of the three changes has been made in order for the school as a whole to strive for excellence and uphold the MCPS mantra, "Success for every student." However, unless some precautions are taken, the promising plans may simply do more harm than good.
The Academies are intended to define a pathway for students early on and encourage them to pursue their possible career interests. The potential is undeniable. But instead of boxing students into categories which may inhibit academic exploration, the Academies need to be relatively flexible, allowing students to still "test the waters." If a student finds that he is not enjoying or benefitting from his Academy, he should be able to switch to another pathway. And the requirements for completing each academy should also be flexible, transparent and carefully planned out. As of now, the capstones for each pathway are at best matters of speculation. Current freshmen have been told to choose a pathway for next year, but not clearly if they are required to complete that or any pathway before graduating.
Furthermore, this isn’t something that can simply be bestowed upon students and then ignored until graduation. The presentation given to the entire freshmen class was only the first step. Counselors should hold frequent one-on-one meetings with students to make sure that they understand the Academies’ offerings and are taking full advantage of them. Only then will they leave the intended positive impact on students.
Even beyond the Academies, Sherwood is not just encouraging but stressing "success." The removal of On-Level English 11 may give our school an initial boost in numbers, but might just come back to haunt students who didn’t receive the attention or support that they were promised. Forcing a student into a harder class isn’t necessarily motivating – it might just be a label change that’s setting them up to fail. And overall, if those students do not make the effort to actually improve upon their schoolwork, integrating On-Level students with Honors students will simply lower class standards and lower the value of the term "Honors." Challenging all students to do better is commendable, but the students and the school must rise to the task.
As far as AP NSL is concerned, it needs to be remembered that freshmen year is intended to integrate former middle school students into a high school environment. Pushing AP NSL has the potential to set unrealistic standards for many students who are not prepared to take a college-level course. For those few students who are capable, however, it’s an attractive option. But it needs to be an option, not an expectation. It has to be understood among parents, teachers and students alike, that AP NSL during freshmen year is the exception, not the rule.
As Sherwood implements changes which strive towards excellence, it should also improve upon what it already has. High school should not be a race; it should be about preparing students for college, giving them a wide range of opportunities, and helping them to pursue knowledge on an individual basis.