Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, Freshman Honors and College Preparatory (prep) classes will be integrated to be taught as combination (combo) classes, and the Freshman “family” class structure will be removed. “Things evolve — things need to change,” explained Mr. Hicks, referring to the various changes for the incoming freshman class of 2029.
Going forward, students enrolled in English 9 Honors and College Prep English 9 will be taught by the same teacher in the same classroom, with different sets of instructions being given to both cohorts for assignments. The decision to combine instruction and double code CP and honors classes was made to fix the skew noticed in the ratio between the sections in the past couple years. Often, struggling students are grouped into the same classes, leading to more load on the teachers teaching them and a persistent feedback cycle for misbehavior. Mr. Hicks says that with the college prep courses comes “different skill sets,” both in teaching and learning. A majority of the interviewed staff agreed that the change will be favorable to the learning environments fostered at Irvington. Ms. McAuley, the school librarian, said that “the change would ultimately be beneficial to both CP and honors,” as the addition of role model figures and diversity in thought would expand the world views, perspectives, and learning abilities of all students. But some are still apprehensive, worried about matching the rigor of both sides within a singular classroom.
Ms. Ferrer, who teaches freshman year English, agreed, observing that there is not necessarily a difference in the caliber of students enrolled in CP versus Honors. Similar changes have been implemented at Horner Middle School and Thornton Middle School in the past, and there were no explicit changes to the curriculum. Students who choose an ‘honors’ class will still have it displayed on their schedules and transcripts, and will receive ‘honors-level’ work, just within the same classroom. Several students have had a taste of these types of classes from elementary school, in which numerous sections of 5th and 4th grade were combined.
Not all students and staff are welcoming the change, however. Many students and staff have concerns regarding the learning curves and new techniques that teachers will have to incorporate to address both courses, and whether or not training for teachers will be required. But Mr. Hicks assures that no such training is necessary, as teachers are already prepped in differentiated instruction, a teaching approach that targets and adapts to the variability in student needs, when they receive a teaching credential from the California Department of Education.
The administration is also eliminating the tying of freshman year family classes in English and the sciences. The family system is the core of the Change Project, an aspect in use since the ‘90s, that Irvington students complete in their ninth grade; without it, it is difficult to imagine a Change Project that incorporates all elements of the research, writing, and service, without making significant alterations to the project as a whole. The administration explains that the school has continuously seen a decline in enrollment, losing a net of 48 sections in the past 3 years. Sections are the number of classes that the school offers to students as a whole, and are calculated to be proportional to the total student enrollment. Fewer sections reduces flexibility for the administration to accomodate students in the classes they requested, and having to pair science and english classes made it all the more difficult for all students to receive their requested courses. This year, the office has switched to using an AI system to create its schedules, and Mr. Hicks claims that with the disbanding of the family class tie-ups helped 95% of students receive an elective that they had chosen on the form the preceding year.
“It’s heartbreaking,” says Ms. McAuley, who has helped Mr. Pearce, the Change Coordinator, with the Change Project for decades now. “This is the first year of high school for these students. The family classes create a sense of community and small learning communities.” Based on her experience, freshmen are better able to integrate themselves into the Irvington community through the family structure. Ms. McAuley believes the project will inherently not be as effective, as most team efforts require collaboration across both science and english classes. Most importantly, the Change Project’s group design has kept many kids out of summer school, a statistic she predicts will increase after the changes next year. Teachers and staff will have to completely redesign the project over the summer to fit the new scheduling needs, a feat Ms. Ferrer says she feels a little rushed walking into. Teachers have also not been given a stipend or additional pay for time taken to redesign the project.
Consequently, the administration has instructed the teachers of the Change Project to modify it to better fit with the adjusted class structures. Staff and administration have scheduled a meeting for May 19 to discuss the changes as a community. Official plans for the future of the project and the dynamic of the CP/Honors classes are yet to be in stone. Although Mr. Pearce, the veteran Change Project coordinator, states that he “led the project through the pandemic, and these new developments will not stop Change.”
