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A group of students professing that they want to be continually challenged in their education is calling for the Redwood City School District to raise the rigor of coursework at Kennedy Middle School.
During the district board meeting on April 2, prospective students at Kennedy Middle and their families lobbied RCSD to bring back the kind of advanced curriculum—particularly in English language arts—that they contend has been lost at the school.
Maya Rose Rosiles, one of several students who addressed the board, believes having access to advanced courses at the school she wants to attend will help her achieve her academic and career goals.
“I’m here today to ask you to add advanced coursework at Kennedy Middle School,” Maya Rose said. “The courses that I take in high school are going to depend on what I’m able to learn in middle school. For me, I really want to go to a good college and become a lawyer, and it really matters what course I take.”
Alexis Velasquez, currently a fifth-grader at Orion Alternative School who was recently assessed at an eighth-grade level in English, told the board that advanced classes in that subject at Kennedy would allow her to expand her learning at a pace that challenges her and keeps her engaged.
“I’m asking the school board to please add as many advanced classes as possible to Kennedy, including advanced ELA and science, and to let anyone into these classes who feels up for the challenge,” Alexis said.
Alexis’s father, Luis Velasquez, told this publication that an advanced ELA program at Kennedy was dropped when the district revised the curriculum, which he described as a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
“We’re asking (the district) to reinstate that class,” Velasquez said in an email, “and we’d also support advanced options in science or other subjects where students are ready to go deeper.”
The district, however, maintains that the ELA standard at Kennedy and its other schools remains high and demanding.
“RCSD adopted and implemented a rigorous ELA curriculum designed to challenge and support all students effectively,” district spokesperson Jorge Quintana said in an email to this publication. “This curriculum, which has now been in place for several years, ensures that every student engages with complex texts and develops critical-thinking skills necessary for success in high school and beyond.”
Quintana disputes the cookie-cutter label.
“The lessons are designed to meet the needs of individual learners, ensuring that every student is challenged appropriately,” he said. “With this approach, RCSD teachers provide the rigor and progression that the advanced class once offered.”
In addition, he said, RCSD’s middle school program is strategically aligned with the Sequoia Union High School District.
“This alignment includes preparation for Sequoia’s English and advanced mathematics as well as other high school level coursework, setting our middle schoolers on a trajectory for academic success in these core courses,” he said.
But, Saoirse Rafferty, who is also entering Kennedy this fall, remains concerned and plans to give her statement at the next board meeting.
“Not having advanced classes truly worries me because I run the risk of spending three years in middle school without the ability to make progress and instead tuning out,” Saoirse said in an email to this publication. “This will dull my potential and puts me at risk of not being ready for advanced coursework later on.”
Saoirse also noted that although she was accepted to North Star Academy, a high-performing school with advanced ELA instruction, her family chose Kennedy partly because it continues the Mandarin-language immersion education she’s been getting at Orion. Other families had similar reasons for choosing Kennedy over North Star.
“I like to be challenged with languages and to see how far I can push myself,” Saoirse said. “To me, there is no limit on how much the human brain can struggle and improve itself.”
RCSD should pay less in administration an invest more in the students.
Funny enough, they already have advanced curriculums, and this would be a zero cost initiative. Where is the draw back?
The district is already grouping kids by ability. Lot’s of families end up leaving their community schools for North Star Academy because they come to feel it is the only choice for a high quality education. If we added advanced course work, multiple entry points into the track, and open enrollment or equitable entrance criteria it would go a long way towards making each school more economically integrated, with higher rates of participation for historically marginalized students. Good for the students!
If they already have the curriculum and there’s no cost, seems like a no-brainer to me. Especially if there are kids hungering for more challenging curriculums!
Every student deserves access to challenging, high-quality instruction that meets them where they are and pushes them forward. Advanced ELA is a critical tool for keeping students engaged, motivated, and on track for long-term success. Let’s bring Advanced ELA back to Kennedy!