Remember the Berkeley High School (BHS) science labs controversy? The school’s Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students, proposed to eliminate before- and after-school science labs and divert resources to narrowing the intractable racial academic achievement gap.
(Also see Berkeley High May Drop “White” Science Labs)
BHS has the widest racial academic achievement gap in California, but parents and guardians of students at BHS circulated a petition that asserted such “devastating cuts would force science teachers to eliminate many of the labs that enrich the experience for students by having them ‘do science.’ These cuts would result in the reduction in coverage of the state standards and the inability to effectively use instructional strategies that support student learning. This flies in the face of the current push for equity and the 2020 Vision. To close the achievement gap, students require more instruction, not less; more time with qualified instructors, not less.”
The school district compromised. From Berkeleyside:
“Under the plan, proposed by superintendent Bill Huyett…AP and IB science labs are preserved, and other science courses will provide optional labs in either 0 or 7th period, as happens this year.
“The plan that passed provides 1.4 full-time equivalents (FTEs) for two before or after school labs for AP and IB science courses, and a single FTE for the optional labs for other science courses. The lead teachers in the BHS science department are working to get an honors designation for all students who take these labs, so that students’ increased efforts and understanding are reflected on their transcripts.”
In other words, the school retains some labs, and loses some.
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