A petition signed by dozens of Pierson Middle and High School students and parents, and submitted to the Sag Harbor School Board on Monday night, has Sag Harbor administrators potentially embarking on a total review of the courses and programs offered at the school.
At the heart of the curriculum inquiry is whether the school's participation in the International Baccalaureate program is meeting the students' needs.
"Ten years ago, when the Sag Harbor School District made the decision for Pierson High School to become an International Baccalaureate school, thorough research and consideration was given which supported this academic change. This was deemed the right course forward for our students at that time," the petition reads. "As we know, so much has changed in our community and in the lives of our students over the last decade. Today, we question if our current academic program is providing the best learning opportunity for our children and ask for a reassessment."
The signers include students now enrolled in individual I.B. courses as well as in the full I.B. diploma program; students who opted out of I.B. "and are disappointed with the alternatives," and underclassmen who are evaluating their upcoming choices, as well as their parents. Some of the families "came to Pierson for its academic offerings" and have found themselves "questioning their decision."
"We hope that this letter is the start of a meaningful discussion with the entire community on this very important topic," reads the petition, some of whose signers gave their names as "X" to remain anonymous, according to Joe Fuer, a parent who volunteered to read it aloud to the school board.
Jeff Nichols, the district superintendent, replied later in the board meeting to say that the petitioners' topic is "worthy of us digging a little deeper." In his time as Pierson principal, before becoming superintendent, Mr. Nichols oversaw the expansion of Advanced Placement course offerings — widely viewed as a competing program to I.B. — from two to 12 classes, before the school shifted its focus to International Baccalaureate.
"At the time, I was getting feedback from students coming back from college saying they were lacking in their preparation," Mr. Nichols said. "Writing was a big issue, and I heard that from parents as well. Coupled with what I think is still going on, which is the nature of teaching and learning changing through technology, the school looked for a program that better addressed our needs."
"We think students really need to be able to apply knowledge," he continued. "They need to be able to synthesize it, think critically, and solve problems. The I.B. program better addressed those goals. Having said that, I think there's value in revisiting our thinking and whether there are changes we can make to our academic program that would make it better — or whether we're good where we're at — but part of that process will be speaking to the various constituents . . . to get their feedback."
About six years ago the district also weighed expanding the I.B. offerings to include the I.B. Middle Years Programme for younger students, but the effort was ultimately shelved and Pierson administrators developed a new, original take, called PLANT, which stands for Preparing Learners for a New Tomorrow.
"I think it's important for us to continually assess the course of studies that we offer students. The letter raises some interesting questions," Mr. Nichols said.
He gave an example of one potential change the administration is already weighing: With some I.B. classes, like History of the Americas, spanning two academic years, the district is exploring whether it can "co-seat" students interested in a single year of the content with the I.B. students sitting for the full year.
Mr. Nichols took the unusual step of darting out into the hallway with some of the petitioners while the board meeting was still taking place. When he returned, he reported to the school board that he simply wanted to tell them he was eager "to hear what their thoughts are in more detail."
Sandi Kruel, the school board president, requested that the administrators invite Pierson's I.B. alumni back for conversations about how well prepared they felt they were after they graduated.
There was also talk about tracking the outcomes of graduates as they moved on to higher education and into careers, but as Jordana Sobey, a board member, pointed out, "It's very hard to get any kind of data from our graduates that has statistical relevance because it's a very small sample size."