To the editor:

Stop confounding the issues of leveled education and equity in the honors program and offer leveled classes with honors opportunities.  

"It is easiest to reach the most kids when classes are leveled." Kelly Andreoni, an educator with experience teaching in many schools, convincingly argued against deleveling at last week's school committee meeting. She explained students grow best when not in the shadows of others. Our students and high school excelled for years with leveled education. Now, one year after forcing the deleveling agenda, less students are receiving honors, merit scholarships are in jeopardy, and teachers and students are experiencing increased workloads and stress. How is this serving our community or empowering our students to excel? It is not and it is time for the district to change course. Opportunity, growth, and equity can all exist together if the district offers leveled classes, and supports an honors distinction for students not in honors classes. 

Barrington needs oversight and input for curriculum decisions moving forward.  

The district provided poor, low quality data that never truly supported deleveling in Barrington. With minimal oversight and communication, it then implemented an honors designation last year that completely failed. In the process, the district jeopardized merit scholarships and only realized this potential risk nearly a year later. There was never adequate consideration or discussion about how deleveling would serve our community; instead, it was an agenda of a select few. Patrick McCrann rightly declared there needs to be better oversight of changes to curriculum in the future to avoid this scenario. This needs to be in place immediately so no one person can continue to dictate what is best in Barrington’s schools without any accountability from the School Committee or the community's input. It remains unclear how we have an administrator making decisions about curriculum that is not focused on the educational needs of our community, and a school committee who is ignoring the plea of an overwhelming majority.

More parents need to get involved.

In our time in Barrington, never has the opinion of the public been so unified and ignored. There is much to lose for all parents of school aged children. Personally, we fear losing our status as a top-tier high school. We fear the disadvantage this will bring to our children when they apply to college. But our biggest fear is our children will not be challenged, supported or engaged at their own educational level. No student will learn more in the shadows of deleveled class with overburdened teachers who are not specifically trained to teach in this classroom. It is time for all parents to speak up and request immediate changes to the district's policy and the School Committee's process. 

Eric and Carrie Newton

Barrington