Supe: Board will revisit graduation requirements in September

Hundreds of students, alumni, parents and teachers filled the Benicia Unified School District office to address concerns over Benicia High School’s new graduation requirements, scheduled to go into effect for the class of 2022, at Thursday’s school board meeting. In fact, the turnout was so large that the majority had to watch a livestream of the meeting that was set up in the Liberty High School gym.

On March 16, the school board held a discussion on proposed new graduation requirements to more closely resemble the University of California and California State University requirements. The proposed changes were as follows:

* Health and the semesterlong elective that accompanied it would be replaced by a new yearlong course titled “Get Focused,” intended to help freshmen be successful by identifying their life and career goals early on and developing a pathway to prepare for that field, according to its description in the 2017-18 course catalog.

* Three years of math would be required with a minimum requirement of Integrated Math 2 instead of the current two-year requirement.

* Three years of science, two of which must have a lab, would be required instead of two.

* There would be no changes in the requirements for English, social science and physical education.

* Instead of students having the option to take either one year of a foreign language or fine art, they would now be required to take two years of the same foreign language plus one year of a visual or performing art, although per state law, it may be substituted for a Career Technical Education course.

* As many of the elective units would be allocated to the new requirements, students would now be required to take 35 elective units as opposed to 75.

The board unanimously approved the new requirements as part of the consent calendar at its very next meeting on April 6.

The new requirements drew concerns from students, parents and faculty alike, especially in the area of performing arts where it was argued that it would be nearly impossible to take four years of band or drama. Among other issues expressed were the lack of community input and decreased space for electives. An informational meeting was held at Benicia High School in May to address these concerns, which were further expanded upon at Thursday’s meeting.

An hour before the meeting began, a select group of participants donned all black clothing and gathered at the corner of First and Military for an art rally, many holding up signs and receiving honks of approval from cars passing by. The group then marched to the District Office on West K Street for the board meeting.

Superintendent Charles Young thanked those who showed up.

“Your attendance is clear to us that you care deeply about your child’s education,” he said.

Young stated that the intention behind the requirements was to create more opportunities for students after they graduate and that the goal was never to diminish the arts programs. However, he did feel the district could have done a better job in communication.

“We clearly should have done a better job of articulating the change in the process as we went through it last year,” he said. “While we had three board meetings where we went through the process on this, we clearly could have done a better job of engaging the community, having conversations, explaining it more clearly and listening to feedback.”

Young said the graduation requirements would be agendized in the fall for further discussion and re-evaluation.

“Part of that discussion will be fed by the comments that I think a lot of you want to share this evening,” he said.

The board also expressed appreciation for those who took the time to speak their minds on the new changes. Trustee Celeste Monnette thanked those who showed up and sent emails to the board to initiate a dialogue.

“This is democracy in action,” she said.

Trustee Peter Morgan also expressed appreciation of those sharing their views and thanked Young for his willingness to listen. He also expressed regret over his vote.

“If I knew then what I know now, I would not have voted the same,” he said.

When the public comment portion opened up, many took to the lectern to give their thoughts on the matter. The public comment period lasted nearly 3 hours.

One common theme of the public’s speeches was students talking about how being enrolled in arts courses helped them find their passions. Stephen Newcomb, a senior drum major who will be attending Cornell University in the fall, said he came to Benicia Middle School as a soft-spoken sixth-grader but found solace in the school’s band.

“When I joined the band, they accepted me as a family member,” he said.

Newcomb followed the band program through Benicia High.

“If I was going through this new setup, I would not have been able to take band all four years,” he said.

Another senior, Hamish Dinsdale, said his drama and art teachers have helped shape him.

“The people I’ve chosen to spend all my time with, almost as an apprentice of sorts to them as they craft me into the person I am today, the person who two years prior to this would not have been able to stand up to this microphone and utter a single word, are the people who have turned me into the person I am today,” he said. “Without the ability to master the crafts that I love, I don’t think I would be standing before you today.”

Bruce Rockwell opined that the decision was well-intended, but given that half of all college-bound students go to community college first, it would be overqualifying students for UCs.

“We have a lot of high school graduates now that are A-G completed, but their GPAs are nowhere near where they’re gonna be to get into the state university system,” he said. “To get into a UC, the typical student profile I believe is now a 4.2 GPA for most of the UCs.”

BHS Band Director Patrick Martin felt the discussion should be brought back to the board sooner than September.

“If you truly value and appreciate what we do, I challenge you to rescind your vote to approve the graduation requirements and open the discussion now,” he said. “Don’t wait until September.”

Martin clarified that he did not mean he wanted a revote that evening, but he at least wanted the discussion for a revote to start taking place at that time.

Kimberly Taugher, a tenured biology professor at Diablo Valley College, shared some data from other districts that had implemented similar policies, including Los Angeles Unified School District, which adopted a “D is OK” policy for A-G requirements.

“We need to look at the far-reaching repercussions of this,” she said. “‘If you require it, you can achieve it’ doesn’t always work that way. They can achieve it with help, guidance and support, and this takes money, which frankly, we don’t have right now.”

Emily Sackett, a senior, presented the results of a petition she had been circulating to request the board reverse its vote. As of the meeting, she had garnered 1,053 signatures. She also surveyed seniors in the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program and found that 90 percent of them will be going to a two-year or four-year college.

Sackett acknowledged that the intention was not to cut the art programs but expressed disappointment that the consequences were not looked into.

“I’m very frustrated, as many other people are, that the implications of these policies weren’t explored or fully considered before being passed,” she said.

Parent Annette Balter was disappointed at the lack of public engagement in the process and suggested other options for improving student outcomes, including smaller class sizes, improved professional development and more counseling support.

Parent Shirin Samiljan expressed concerns about the implications for special education students and how she felt they needed electives.

“They don’t need electives because they’re not capable of doing things,” she said. “They need electives because if you’re in special ed math, English or history, what are you gonna do next?”

Samiljan elaborated that electives would provide a good opportunity for special education students to develop their passions and practical skills.

Former Benicia High drama teacher Christine Mani highlighted Benicia’s reputation as an art community but expressed frustration at how she felt art issues were continually being ignored, including fixes to the Performing Arts Building.

“For four years, I worked on the bond measure to try and make sure that the arts were being taken care of,” she said. “I was told by two superintendents, two bond managers, two principals and multiple people ‘It’s OK, you’re going to be taken care of.’ This is a bigger problem. Now you’re saying ‘Oh, we’ll talk about it in September.’ In the arts, we have a deadline. The show’s about to go up. We have to do it now.”

“Why can’t you look at the value of the arts now?” she asked.

The last speaker was Emily Hall, a seventh-grader at BMS who will graduate from BHS in 2022.

“My plan was to go into advanced drama and advanced dance to get into a college where I could fulfill my dream of being a dancer,” she said. “Now all these changes that are happening is making me change my plan.”

“My passion isn’t being a scientist, mathematic or teacher,” she added. “My passion is being a performer.”

Hall asked that when the board reopens its discussion in September, they consider the students in those programs.

A full report of the business items at Thursday’s meeting will be available in Tuesday’s paper.