Letter: Stop removing honors classes at Barrington High School

Posted 3/18/21

To the editor:

We are writing to you with our concerns about the removal of dedicated honors classes at the high school. Please stop the removal immediately and reinstate the honors classes that …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: Stop removing honors classes at Barrington High School

Posted

To the editor:

We are writing to you with our concerns about the removal of dedicated honors classes at the high school. Please stop the removal immediately and reinstate the honors classes that we have already lost.

As members of the freshman class who have experienced dedicated honors classes, we know firsthand that being in a dedicated honors course is very different from being in a regular class. Honors classes are more rigorous and they demand more time and effort from you. They teach you how to apply yourself in a challenging environment. In a dedicated honors class, we move at a faster pace, and we dive deeper into the material. There are more tests, projects, and homework assignments than a regular class. We feel that this level of rigor best prepares students for AP classes, and you would be putting students at a disservice to not allow them this option. In the future, if all honors classes are removed, what happens when kids have to make the massive jump from a regular class to an AP class? It will make the AP work seem much harder, and students will not be nearly as prepared as coming from an honors class.

In addition, a project alone does not justify the honors designation, as how can a single project at the end of a semester make up for hours of work, hours of extra learning and lesson plans, and a more difficult course load spread throughout the year. The project can also only cover so many topics, rather than go deeper into every single unit studied as an honors class would. Anyone who wants to be challenged in school can apply themselves and choose to take an honors class. The decision is up to the student and this is what is key. This is a choice that can’t be taken away or replaced with one project.

People who have worked hard all of middle school to achieve academic excellence deserve to be surrounded by similarly motivated peers. Anyone can choose to be in a dedicated honors class. It is your decision and it is imperative that students who apply themselves are surrounded by similarly motivated students in high school. The removal of dedicated honors classes will be extremely upsetting to students who are motivated to learn, and who like to challenge themselves in school. We speak from experience because we have noticed how in classes such as World History (where there is no honors option), it becomes harder to push ourselves and motivate ourselves to go above the standard.

We ask you to stop removing dedicated honors classes immediately and reinstate the ones that have been removed (9th and 10th grade Honors ELA.) Listen to your students; they are the ones who have experienced these honors classes firsthand and they are the ones who will lose the choice. The administration never asked for our input, so we are giving it to you proactively. Please preserve this choice and opportunity for all students.

Here is the full list of people who have signed the petition: 

Sophia Ford, Chloe Moscrop, Emma Bell, Chelsea Duncan, Kate Mellen, Keith Hartman, Zeynep Abul, Hannah LeBlanc, Jordan Roskiewicz, Kate M., Isabella Mysak, Zoe Ritter, Ethan Knight, Grace Barber, Emily Ferdenzi, Ava DiMatteo, Samuel Barber, Penelope Leicht, Katie LeBlanc, Alexandra Hope, Lily Kirk, Lily Cregan, Hayden Knight, Anna Lombardi, Jacob Greenberg, Lily Da Ponte, Eleni Ferdenzi, Genevieve Geiser, Katie McAdams, Megan McCrann, Liliana Hamilton, Macy Breen, Gavin Nelson, Cam Kelley, Giana Colonna, Dani Ceseretti, Lillie Brown, Miles Burke, Charlotte Tutt, Katie Dubel, Lillian Maloney, Lilly Swintak, Megan Kelly, Bailey Duncan, Reilly Curran, Anna Garofano, Matthew Pickering, Griffin Duffy, Megan McCrann, Julie Eldeiry, Jane Bryant, Katherine Chun, Juliet McGee, Cassin Edgar-Smith, Addyson Whittet, Annie Gildea, Stella Hillier, Gracie Hall, Ariba Saoda, Ashley P., Peyton Whittet, Alexandria Rego, Isabella Feroce, Kyle Keough, Alie Dumas, Sang Min Park, Maddie Gill, Zayan Azman, Grace Comfort, Taegan Moran, Elly Cregan, Vignesh Peddi, Maddox Godwin, Socrates Zafiriades, Laurie Garcia, Maude Smith-Montross, Maggie Despines, Sara Turillo, Nick C., Annabel Weimer, Lily Feroce, Connor Marley, Gabby Navarro, Sabrina Drew, Eli Terrell, Zoe Gerstenblatt, Lily Robinson, Luke Van Ness, Pam Van Ness, Phineas Stabach, Natalie Zulker, Hannah Bairos, Quincy Burke, Stella Densley, Virginia Sanderson, Robert Evans, Tess Egge, Christopher Chwalk, Julia Edgar-Smith, Alexandra Ford. Ella Giampietro, Zachary Weinstein, Priya Gottlieb, Alex Kittredge, Briella Weimer, Madeline Cohea, Hadley J. Halyna,Chapman Leyla Bac, Abby Farb, Michelle Xian, Lily Cuzner, Meg Hastings, Daniella Calderon, Dahlia Weller, Chad Mellen, Ellie McGee, C. Banns, Sadie Boyes, Taylor Paup, Anoisha Shahid, John Reynolds, Brynn Cochran, Avery Guck, Jason Lu, Estelle Uberuaga, Karthik Mitta, Molly Deen, Srilakshmi Mitta, Gareth Stafford, Nate Coutant, Lilly Stratton, Shelby McManaman, Gianna Vigliotti, Nick Claussen, Kate Gibson, Katelyn Xian, Sarah Simon, Auren Leonard, Aubree Cobos, Andres Gil, Mirabel Gonville, Frannie Johnson, Maeve K., Paige Davignon, Holly Moscrop, Ellie A., Kristen B., Meagan Mungovan, Iris Yang, Ella Reagan, Henry Jackson, Sydney Fry, Cassidy Owens, Leila Beers, Caroline Maher, Ashleigh Wallen, Natasha Epps, Jennifer Jay, Melissa Squires, Gina Costello, Lisa Daft, Brent Squires, Kathy Santos, Amy Knight, Nolan Franke, Ashley Edwards, Thomas Franke, Bennett Owens, Ryan Owens, Eli Prohofsky, Anne Merlino, Elizabeth Greenberg, Jocelyn Owens, Elizabeth Silveria, Cassie DiGiacomo, Claire Moscrop, Katie Ferreira, Tina Gregor, Jennifer Adams, Ben Farb, Ali Lo, JB, Motryja Bejger, Ana Sanchez, Jayden Carlson, Bernard Jay, Rob Gonsalves, Chip Wilkerson, Sarah Orrall, Natalie Leonard, Parisa Beers, Sharon Sylvester, Amy Breslin, Nicholas Aubin, Melanie Edwards, Gregory Beers, Claudia Maiorana, Jennifer Paredes, Henry Schultz, Jen Adams, Samantha Carlone, Star Barnes, Charlotte Mento, Drew Helm, Taschen Gramitt, Alexander Marcu, Giovanni Malpartida, Lilly Floriani, Addy Jay, Ellie Donato, Rahul Yehiya, Isabelle Chen, Mary Tapinos, Lauren Jay, Payton Prete, Clio McBride, Lucy Xiao, Julie Satterthwaite, Sydney Duncan, Lauren Florin, Emma Scheibl, Madhri Yehiya, Emily Grenier, Evan Memolj, Julie Montalbano, Winnie M., Faith Van Ness, Caleb Schultz, Anita DiMatteo, Moses Densley, Ethan Dosa, Peter Birch, Elijah Short, Richard Schultz, Cooper White, Shelby Eichelberger, Jennifer Macaulay, James Nowinski, Bryan Jay, Robert Li, Emma McCrann, Nate Schneider, Katelyn Xian, Jackie Zhu, Anna B., Indie L., Cindy Pierce, Maura McCrann, Mylie Leonard, Anthony Moran, Rileigh Clure, Cori Toelle, Emily Valera, Ella Rosenberg, Samuel Mischio, Emily Ford, Amanda Ferreira, Lynne Hildreth, Tracey Myatt, Amy Farb, Danielle Zavada, Gia Guilmette, Julie Piette, Alyssa DaFonseca, Jake Perron, Gareth Stafford, Andy Ford, Lisa Culton, Kristen Kreuzkamp, Anna Amiradaki, Ziyue Xing, Michelle Goncalves, Ava Grant, Lindsey Lemay, Bailey Sciotto, Andrew Li, Braden Lievense, Julia Lewis, Claudia Leonard, Taejo Chung-Brcak, Jennifer Gill, Brieana Calvano, Max Oberacker, Karen Montecalvo, Nikolaos Panagos, Evan Katsinas, Keith Montecalvo, Karyn Dillon, Michelle Snow, Dina Egge and Ryan Weimer.     

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.