Science Teachers Protest Possible Cuts
The elimination of zero and seventh period labs under the recently formulated Berkeley High School Action Plan has drawn opposition from some members of the BHS community, prompting continued discussion and debate about the provision.
Under the new plan, finalized and approved two weeks ago, the Berkeley Schools Excellence Project (BSEP) grants currently being used to fund science labs, along with those used in the arts programs, will be redirected to fund a new system of “equity grants.” These grants will be intended to support the Action Plan’s larger objective of student equity at BHS. While it is possible that parts of the lab program may be submitted by the science department funding under the new equity grants, potential of this taking place is currently unclear.
A number of BHS science teachers and other community members strongly oppose the reassignment of science lab funds, arguing that the loss of labs will undermine the science program at the school.
According to an open letter written and signed by members of the BHS science department, the mandatory use of 20 percent of class time for lab activities in college prep science courses will have to be included in the regular school day under the new schedule, reducing instructional time by 20 percent in standard science classes and 30 percent in AP classes.
“If we don’t have that extra hour, it means that we still have to cover the same material but we’ll have to do it in 20 percent less time. We’ll have to speed up what we do in class because we’ll be doing the labs during that time as well,” said Evy Kavaler, a BHS science teacher who opposes the elimination of lab periods. “That will really hurt kids who struggle in science and the whole reason that we’re doing a redesign is to help struggling kids. It’s a contradiction of what this whole plan is about. Labs are really important to do science hands–on,” she continued. “When do you learn the most? When you’re actually doing something. I can do demonstrations on a topic, but students aren’t going to fully learn about it until they actually do it.”
However not all BHS science teachers oppose the elimination of before–and after–school lab periods. School of Social Justice and Ecology science teacher Kate Trimlett acknowledged that while the elimination of these extra periods before and after school may be more stressful to some, her own teaching experience has led her to believe they are not the only way to teach lab material. When teaching in the comprehensive large school as a new teacher, Trimlett found that “the same students didn’t come to lab every week and then they would fail the class.” When she began teaching in SSJE, Trimlett explained, “labs were incorporated into the school day, which helped a lot. There are so many other high schools that teach science and teach it well without labs before and after school and so I feel that we can do the same if we need to.”
BHS Principal Jim Slemp, who put together the Action Plan with BHS lead teachers, agrees. “There are schools like Miramonte and Tamalpais, schools with great science programs that don’t have labs outside of regular class time,” Slemp said. “When you’re working towards equity it’s all about figuring out how to get that money to help kids who are struggling. We’ve got to look wherever we can to get those resources. And you don’t want to lower the standards; the main goal here is better science instruction and more support for students who aren’t doing well.”
“To close the equity gap here, we can’t keep doing the same things we’ve been doing,” said BHS Biology teacher Nick Pleskâc about the new strategies in the Action Plan. “I don’t think that [eliminating labs periods] will necessarily bring students that far down,” Pleskâc added. “If you look at who all this extra [lab] time is going towards, a lot of it is going to AP and IB students. That means that already more time is being given to students who are on the higher end of the achievement gap.”
Another contentious aspect of the provision is that, due to decreases in lecture time, AP sciences at BHS will become exclusively second year offerings. This means that students will only be able to take the AP version of a course if they have already taken the same class at the non-AP level.
“That’s unreasonable,” said Mai Downs, a BHS junior who hoped to take AP Physics senior year. “I mean, you do learn more in the AP classes, but there’s still tons of overlap with the non–APs.”
In the view of Trimlett and Pleskâc, making APs available only to students who have taken the basic class could have some positive effects. “More students will be successful if APs are second year courses. And the counselors can communicate the change with college admissions offices.”
“I think that that type of change would help create less burn–out and create a less stressful experience of high school,” said Pleskâc.
However, he also noted that enrollment may decrease in advanced courses like AP Physics. Science classes have traditionally been given extra class time for lab activities. As part of the school’s former eight period bell schedule, sciences at BHS were given a double period class, during which teachers generally conducted labs and gave additional help to students. When the number of classes per day was reduced to six in 2003, lab periods were designated to time slots before or after school and were funded with grants from BSEP. However, this source of money has been uncertain for some time, and the prospect of losing labs altogether is not a new one for the BHS science department.
“Every year they say ‘we’re not going to have the money,’ but we always get it. But this year they’re not saying that they don’t have the money, they’re saying that they do have it and that they’re going to do something else with it,” said Kavaler.
AP Environmental Science teacher Mardi Mertens stated, “The excellence of the science department is a cultural resource. You have to consider its value to the community as a whole... I don’t think that the public was informed [about the loss of labs]. It’s a major change to the school and it needs more review.”
The issue has caused some strife between members of the BHS community, including parents, students, and teachers. “I’ve been worried that it’s going to divide professional relationships,” said Pleskâc. “It’s been a hard thing for our department.”
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