System must push smart students, parents say

Published on December 07, 2007

More than 150 parents and residents have signed a letter to the School Committee and Superintendent Jere Hochman, expressing their concern that Amherst is not providing an intellectually engaging and challenging enough curriculum for all students.

Members of a new group of parents and residents calling themselves Amherst Committee for Excellence drafted and began circulating the letter last week. It calls on Hochman the School Committee to develop strategies in the coming few months to hire and retain "excellent" teachers.

ACE members were surprised at how quickly they were able to gather signatures, said Catherine Sanderson, a parent and psychology professor at Amherst College, who is helping to spearhead the effort.

"I think the schools are kidding themselves if they think all the parents are happy," she said.

Hochman, in an email, said of the letter, "We have been working vigorously to insure and build upon a strong foundation in teaching, curriculum, and programs for student achievement characterized by principles of rigor, intellectual curiosity, and high expectations for every student.

"I agree with the philosophy and stance the parents espouse for challenging curriculum and high standards for achievement with consistency," Hochman said. "I am eager to listen, to share what we have in place, and to review our planned next steps for consistency, curriculum and development, and insuring high expectations for every student."

Current academic shortcomings, ACE members write, are "particularly evident in the math and science curriculum, as evidenced by the elimination of differentiated math in seventh grade, the absence of organized participation in science fairs, and the proposed elimination of ninth-grade biology."

Some teachers are successful in challenging students at all levels, but others are not, the letter writers say. The schools now provide an "uneven learning experience for children in which only certain classrooms provide the type of enriched and differentiated learning that benefits all students."

Sanderson emphasized that "differentiated learning" doesn't mean children are separated into different "tracks," but are taught in a manner that challenges all of them, using different math problems in the same classroom, for example, depending on a students' skills.

ACE members say it is time for the schools' philosophy to change in a way that will benefit all students, a matter that has taken on special urgency now because three new principals - at Fort River and Crocker Farm elementary schools and the Middle School - will soon be hired.

"We believe it is imperative to represent Amherst public schools as institutions that seek to challenge and support all students, including those with strong preparation," they write. "This should be conveyed clearly to all job candidates as a core tenet of the Amherst public schools."

A potential candidate seeking information about the Amherst schools would find news stories about a tax levy limit override not passing last year, about parents being upset that a onetime felon had been hired as a guidance counselor and about concerns that there are too few minority teachers, Sanderson said.

"The issue is you can't hire someone good, if you don't get good applicants. Let's say you're somebody in Boston and you Google Amherst, what do you see? You see all of this negativity," Sanderson said. "Frankly, I would think this town is a mess."

Sanderson and many of the letter writers were supporters of last year's proposed $2.5 million override, which failed. Its failure is, in part, a sign that residents and parents are disenchanted with the schools which would have benefited from it, Sanderson said.

Many people whom she knows, including some of the letter writers, have taken their children out of the public schools and are sending them to area private schools, she said. Others are paying tutors to help their children with math or science or are sending them to Kumon, a tutoring franchise on Pomeroy Lane.

It is leading to a two-tiered system in which parents who can afford to send their children elsewhere or pay for tutoring are doing so, contributing to the achievement gap that Amherst administrators say they are trying to close, Sanderson said.

Sanderson applauds the school district's commitment to diversity and closing the achievement gap, she said.

"The issue is that for some reason, it's often the perception that there are competing goals of excellence or diversity, and I think the school system would be best served by having an equally strong emphasis on both.

Sanderson said that she and others are disturbed by statements like some that Fort River Principal Russ Vernon-Jones has made, saying that teachers' strongest relationships should be with the lowest achieving students.

Hochman assured parents who attended a Regional School Committee meeting on Tuesday and said they were concerned about the comment that Vernon-Jones is a "passionate" advocate for all children, but some parents said they still find comments like it troubling.

"Imagine if a principal went on record saying we want to build the strongest relationships with the very best students. I would find that outrageous," Sanderson said.

"This leads to a feeling of divisiveness that doesn't need to exist. I don't know that children in all circumstances flourish when they are given an opportunity to work at their highest level, and I think all parents want to hear from the superintendent's office and the principals that they are in fact concerned about their children and that they are not prioritizing some children over other children."

Amherst schools could strive to become known as having the best math and science programs in the country, Sanderson said. "That would be good for all kids. That would lift all boats."

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.