Dear Editor,

The Bate Middle School Site-Based Decision Making Council made a courageous, culture-changing decision last week when they approved a new accelerated class policy. This change has been a long time coming. By approving this new course of action, the site-based council proved it is concerned with ALL student learning.

The policy, which is based on extensive research, limits accelerated coursework to the area of mathematics. All other classes will be heterogeneous, which is grounded in educational best practices.

Research shows that tracking students this young creates not only educationally segregated classes; it also segregates classes by the socio-economic background of the students. This type of segregation creates a culture of privilege and entitlement. It separates those who have from those who do not have.  

Danville Schools are multicultural, racially diverse, and serve children from ALL socio-economic backgrounds. If ALL students have access to equal educational opportunities and expectations, ALL students will have the same opportunity learn. Having heterogeneous classes allows ALL students access to higher levels of learning.

I applaud the Bate SBDM, under the educational leadership of Bate Principal Sheri Satterly, for their belief that ALL children have the ability to learn at higher levels when given equal access to educational opportunities.

Well done!

Elaine Wilson-Reddy

Danville