San Benito High School officials are revising their policy on
student course load that will allow them to take classes
concurrently at SBHS and the college level.
In the past, seniors could not enroll at both SBHS and a
university or community college. The revised policy allows them to
do this, and some parents and community members view this as a huge
reversal on past policy.
San Benito High School officials are revising their policy on student course load that will allow them to take classes concurrently at SBHS and the college level.
In the past, seniors could not enroll at both SBHS and a university or community college. The revised policy allows them to do this, and some parents and community members view this as a huge reversal on past policy.
“Students were taking courses they didn’t even want to be in because they had to have an academic course load,” said Jean Burns Slater, superintendent of the SBHS District.
The old policy required students to take six classes at SBHS their senior year – three of them had to be considered “academic solids.” The revision requires three academic solids that can be taken at SBHS or a university/community college or both.
“(With the old policy, they) wanted to make sure students took school seriously,” Slater said. “How do you keep your seniors focused on school?”
Seniors will still be considered students and can participate in all student activities. In the past, if seniors graduated before their second semester, they could not play sports or attend prom that year.
To ensure that SBHS earns student attendance revenue from the state, students must still take 180 minutes of instructional time at SBHS. This amounts to two blocks of classes.
A committee will be developed to determine what constitutes an academic solid from the University of California, California State University and various community colleges, Slater said, and to keep an updated, current list of academic solids.
Classes seniors take at one of the above three institutions “must be courses that are not available within the comprehensive high school program,” according to the revised Board Policy. Sometimes, students will take a class at a college because it is easier than the one taught at SBHS, Slater said.
Academic solids aren’t just core subjects – math, English, social science and science. Some of SBHS’s electives count as academic solids.
The revision also more closely aligns the course load with graduation requirements. According to SBHS’s current graduation requirements, students only need to take 10 units of English and five units of social science their senior year. To maintain the academic solid requirement, students have to sign up for classes, like genetics, that they weren’t interested in, Slater said.
The lack of motivation and achievement issue originated at a December Board retreat. The district’s Board of Trustees asked for a review of the policy to determine if changes should be made. At a December administrative retreat, the topic was discussed with district and school administrators, which resulted in the revision.
The revision was presented at the Jan. 14 Board meeting for first reading. Officials plan to have the revision ready for next school year.
“I hope this better meets the needs for students,” Slater said.
