HumanitiesHonorsforAllPlan

SummaryofthePlan
Garfieldservesawidevarietyoflearners.Oftentheassumptionisthatthehonorscoursesarepopulatedwith
studentswhoareallatthesamelevel.Butinreality,thereisawidearrayoflearningneedsinhonorsclasses,
includingELLandspecialeducationstudents.Consequently,anhonorscoursedemandsasmuch
differentiationasanyother.
Inthesamevein,manyregulareducationclassesserveawiderangeoflearners.Somestudentsoptforthese
classesbecausetheydontbelievetheycanmeetthechallengeorbecausetheyhaveneverhadthe
opportunitytoexcel.Thereisverylittleupwardmovementtohonorsclassesfromthegeneraledtrack.
However,weseegeneraledstudentsonadailybasisandknowtheyarecapableofmeetinghigh
expectations.
Thissplitbetweenregularedandhonorsresultsindefactoracialsegregationinourclassrooms,andinthis
system,allofourstudentsmissoutonthevalueofengagingwithdiverseperspectives.
WithsupportfromtheGarfieldstaffandadministration,wearedevelopinganintegrated,allhonorsninth
gradehumanitiescurriculumtoprovideopportunitiestoprovideabettereducationforallstudents.

Implementation
Curriculum
Wewillbepreparingallstudentsforadvancedclassesin10th,11th,and12thgrade.Thecurriculumwillnot
bewatereddownormodifiedinsuchawaythatstudentsareatadisadvantageinlateryears.
Thecurriculumwillfocusondevelopingasafeandhighlyengagingcollaborativeclassroomclimate,onethat
fosterscriticalthinkingandacademicgrowth.Wewilldeepenandincreasetherigorofthecurriculum,
challengingstudentstodevelop,practice,andmasterawiderangeofskills.
Thismeanswewillbeverydeliberateaboutprovidingmultipleaccesspointstothecurriculum,suchas(but
notlimitedto)scaffoldingreadings,findingwaystoengagereluctantlearners,providingstudentchoicewhen
appropriate,implementingprojectbasedlearning,andaskingstudentstodevelopawiderangeofproductsto
showtheirlearning.
Support
WehavesecuredtheassistanceofDr.SheilaValencia,aliteracyspecialistandresearcherattheUWSchoolof
Educationtoconsultwithusdifferentiationandtohelpusdevelopreadingsupportstrategies.

Teacherswillbeattendingathreedaytrainingonatechniquecalledcomplexinstruction,whichhelps
teachersdevelopmeaningfulgroupactivitiesthatarefocusedonconstructivisttheoriesoflearning.
Wewillcontinuetoresearchbestpracticesindevelopingmeaningfulcurriculumforalllearnersandwill
contactotherexpertstoassistusastheneedarises.
Ouradminstrationiscommittedtosupportingourdesiretocollaboratesothatwecanmakethischange
beneficialforalllearners.

Data
Ourmaingoalistocreatearicherhonorscurriculumthatengagesandbenefitsallabilitylevels.Studiesover
thepastthirtyyearsthatnotethedetrimentaleffectsofabilityleveltrackingareanindicatorofthe
institutionalizedracismthatplaguesourschoolsystemandaddstotheopportunitygap.
ArecentstudyfoundSeattlePublicSchoolshasthefifthwidestachievementgapofallschooldistrictsinthe
country.Thisisunacceptable,especiallywhenresearchsupportsthebenefitsofblendingofstudentsin
heterogeneousclassrooms.
OnestudyoutofTeachersCollegeColumbiareports,Researchershavedocumentedthatstudentsexposure
tootherstudentswhoaredifferentfromthemselvesandthenovelideasandchallengesthatsuchexposure
bringsleadstoimprovedcognitiveskills,includingcriticalthinkingandproblemsolving.

Similarly,BethRubin'sarticle,"TrackingandDetracking"(2006),states,"Anumberofrecentstudieshave
foundpositiveresultsfor[targeted,honorsforall]detrackingandtheheterogeneousgroupingthatitcreates
(Cooper,1996;Klingner,Vaughn,&Schumm,1998;Mehan&Hubbard,1999;
Mehan,Hubbard,&Villanueva,1994;Rothenberg,McDermott,&Martin,1998)."

Resources
Resourcesteachersareusingtohelpthemplaninclude(butarenotlimitedto)thefollowing:
DetrackingforExcellenceandEquity
byCarolCorbettBurrisandDeliaT.Garrity
OntheSameTrack
byCarolCorbettBurris
WorkingforEquityinHeterogeneousClassrooms
,ElizabethG.CohenandRachelA.Lotan,eds
DesigningGroupwork:StrategiesfortheHeterogeneousClassroom
byElizabethCohen
DifferentiationinPractice:AResourceGuideforDifferentiatingCurriculum,Grades912
byCarolAnn
Tomlinson
MultipleIntelligencesintheClassroom
byThomasArmstrong
MultipleIntelligences:NewHorizonsinTheoryandPractice
byHowardGardner
TeachingEnglish

byDesign
byPeterSmagorinsky
StrategicReading
byJeffreyD.Wilhelm
AcademicLanguageforEnglishLanguageLearnersandStrugglingReaders
byYvonneS.Freemanand
DavidE.Freeman
DeeperReading
byKellyGallagher
ScaffoldingtheAcademicSuccessofAdolescentEnglishLanguageLearners
byAidaWalquiandLeo
vanLier
Mindset:TheNewPsychologyofSuccess
byCarolDweck
SocialStudiesforSecondarySchools:TeachingtoLearn,LearningtoTeach
byAlanJ.Singer