Parents upset with school board's decision to reduce advanced math classes due to racial disparities.

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Parents of students from a Cambridge, Massachusetts, public school are outraged over a 2017 decision made by the school board to end advanced math courses. It was found that white and Asian children were overwhelmingly being fast-tracked, while Black and Latino children were often relegated to lower-level courses.

According to the Daily Mail, the district began phasing out the programs, resulting in Algebra I being removed from all middle school curricula, affecting four schools in CPS. Parents are now arguing that the school board’s decision further increases inequality, as only students who can afford private tutors have the opportunity to tackle more complex and advanced math lessons.

Jacob Barandes, a district parent and a Harvard physicist, expressed his discontent, saying, “They’re shortchanging a significant number of students, overwhelmingly students from less-resourced backgrounds, which is deeply inequitable.”

Former and current school board members seem to have different opinions on the original intention of the probe into possible racial disparities in advanced courses. Patty Nolan, a current Cambridge city councilor and former school board member, said, “Algebra by eighth grade was voted upon many times over the past 30 years. And unless I am mistaken, the School Committee has not rescinded its many votes that algebra for every eighth-grader is a goal.”

The concerns over the divisive nature of the courses came to a head in 2019. Manuel Fernandez, then a principal at one of the district’s public schools, said, “Over time, you end up with lower-level math courses filled with Black and Latino children and high-level advanced math classes with white and Asian children. Students internalize it—they believe the smart kids are the white kids. Our staff said we cannot continue to divide our students this way.”

Though some parents have decided to remove their children from CPS, there are plans to help remedy the outrage. CPS Superintendent Victoria Greer believes the decision will help further make up for socioeconomic factors that often leave some children behind while accelerating others forward. Greer said, “We have a huge focus on addressing both the academic achievement gaps and the opportunity gaps in our community. One thing the district is not interested in doing is perpetuating those gaps.”

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