Starting this fall, Palo Alto High School freshmen will be taking a combined biology course that merges honors and non-honors level classes, following a 3-2 vote at the district’s board meeting Tuesday.
The topic drew supporters and critics in a lengthy discussion, with teachers citing reasons such as improving diversity, equity and mental health, and providing a high-quality learning experience. Community members voiced opposing arguments on students’ limited choice of academic difficulty and the lack of accommodations to advanced skillsets.
According to science teacher Elizabeth Brimhall, the “de-laning” of the biology class will give way to one foundational course for all freshmen, enabling students to later specialize in advanced classes.
“We hope to create a launchpad that will open up access for all students to continue into the various levels and lanes of science,” Brimhall said.
Brimhall said the new biology course will also honor pillars of the PAUSD Promise, promoting educational equity and excellence.
“We know that laning can lead to issues around students’ beliefs in themselves,” Brimhall said. “Often, especially in the foundational transition year to high school, they cannot make a truly informed choice about the appropriate lane.”
Similarly, according to Gunn High School science teacher Joshua Little, the change is an effort towards removing the stereotypes associated with academic lanes.
“The stigma is there in our everyday language: ‘I’m just in regular biology,'” Little said. “I also hear it at the other end. It’s a badge they wear: ‘I’m in honors.’ We wanted to destigmatize this language in our freshman biology course; we want to lift everyone up.”
Among next year’s freshmen, who will be the first to experience the impact of the district’s decision, some expressed discontent during the board meeting. According to Katie Hu, an eighth grader at Greene Middle School, she was looking forward to an advanced biology curriculum.
“I am very passionate about STEM, including life science and biology, which is why I’m disappointed that Biology Honors will not be offered next year,” Hu said. “I want to take a science class that challenges me. … If Biology Honors is taken away, me and many others will not be able to have this opportunity.”
According to junior Xander Deisseroth, merging the two classes would limit students’ freedom to choose their course difficulty.
“For the large majority of students that aren’t at that exact midline and who want things to be a little easier or a little harder, it’s going to be a negative change,” Deisseroth said. “If you fuse everything into one lane, you deny students that choice.”
Bradford said the lane distinction is also necessary to prepare students for advanced science pathways.
“Having an honors class for Bio or really any [class] prepares you for the next year of honors classes,” Bradford said. “If we don’t have that preparation, you’re kind of screwed for your future classes if they’re way above the level of your previous year.”
Chemistry Honors teacher Nicole Loomis said that from a teacher’s standpoint, a merged class makes it difficult to tailor the curriculum to students’ varying needs.
“Because Bio is a class that everyone has to take to graduate, the range of student skills in the class is very wide,” Loomis said. “Breaking it into honors and regular lanes makes it much more feasible for teachers to gear their class toward the students either on the higher end or the lower end of those skills. I feel like it will be a challenge to adequately prepare students for Chem Honors in an undifferentiated class.”
For others, including community member Uzma Minhas, the new biology class is a step in the right direction.
“I have students who went through PAUSD and I know that they were both very scared to sign up for Bio H and so neither of them did,” said Minhas. “I think this freshman class is a great idea.”
