To the editor:

I feel compelled to respond to the concerns over de-leveling at Barrington High School. I am troubled in writing this letter because so much of the opposition to this change comes from my own students, former students, members of my sports teams, neighbors, and some of my coworkers. Despite my concerns, I hope that you will hear me, in the spirit of thoughtful discourse that is often missing in our world and our town today.

The district has already shared research that reveals that the leveling of courses does not benefit any type of learner. “Honors level” students do not benefit from being placed in a homogeneous classroom setting; “skills level” students are actually harmed by being placed in lower-level homogeneous classes. This is not new research. Studies to this effect have been clear for many years.

I read the recent letters questioning the level of rigor in our social studies classes, and the perception that our ninth grade World History course is not challenging enough for certain students. That has not been my experience in the classroom. These statements are being made based on no real evidence or fact, and the reputation of the course and the Social Studies Department are being unfairly called into question during this dispute over deleveling. For the nine years that I have been at our high school, our department has not offered an honors level social studies class. Most of our higher-achieving students later take AP social studies courses during their junior and senior years. Our AP scores in social studies are not suffering at all due to the heterogeneity of our freshman and sophomore year classes. Our AP social studies students still excel. Our graduates often return and express their gratitude for how well-prepared they were for their college courses.

And if anything, our school has recently expanded opportunities for engaging in deeper research in sophomore year social studies, while not unfairly leveling our courses. An honors designation has been offered in US History and American Studies, where students may choose to engage in an independent, deeper research project throughout each semester. I hope that we will be able to further expand this opportunity by increasing engagement opportunities and also offering the honors designation in the ninth grade World History course.

A flier recently landed on my front doorstep asking me to designate a red flag to be planted on the lawn of the Town Hall this weekend to register my concern over deleveling. This movement seems to be driven by a social media-driven hysteria over a perceived loss of opportunity, privilege, and exclusivity within our district. It is not anchored in research and reality. This symbolic gesture of planting flags on the lawn of our Town Hall will not help us continue to improve equity and learning in our district.

How can we ignore solid educational research? How can anyone suggest that a set of expectations that is good for one group of students is not good for another? How can anyone suggest that their child deserves better than their neighbor’s child? How can we teach our children that such separateness and elitism is acceptable, while we profess to live in a democratic society that is rooted in the principles of fairness and equality?

I hope that the School Committee will not bend to the pressure of those who want to hold onto an archaic system of leveling that benefits no one and actually harms some of our students. Please read the research, and trust the professionals who are charged with providing the best education environment possible for all of our students in this town.

Sincerely,

William Barrass

Barrington