Kate Novak is a consultant who had helped several high-performing districts in Massachusetts – and Barrington – move to what she calls “one universal design for learning,” or one curriculum for students of varying abilities.
Universal design originated in districts, especially large urban ones, where students of color were tracked into lower-level classes, which led to fewer students having access to college-prep, honors and AP classes. The “universal design” is a way to offer equal access to a rigorous curriculum to traditionally under-represented groups.
In this setting, Novak said, students are typically broken into groups which work independently. The teacher spends most of her time with those who need more support.
“We design a class that works for everyone,” she said.
Although Novak is proud of the work Barrington has done, parents said the rollout has been a disaster. Teachers, they said, had little time to prepare, especially in the middle of a pandemic, and students were frustrated by the sudden changes.
One parent, Anna Amoiradaki, pulled her child out of Barrington this year and sent him to La Salle Academy in Providence.
“Honors classes allowed faster-paced students to be challenged,” she said. “None of the high-performing schools in Rhode Island have taken away honors. In the future, our graduates will not have high school transcripts competitive with their peers elsewhere.”
No other high school in Rhode Island has done this, according to Tim Ryan, lobbyist for the
Rhode Island Association of School Superintendents.
