I didn’t believe it, at first. I couldn’t stop thinking, “This is incredible… impossible even.” An entire district in New York eliminated the achievement gap in students graduating with a Regent’s Diploma (the highest of three diplomas offered by the state), saw their minority enrollment in AP Calculus triple, and now have a higher percentage of special education students graduating with Regents diplomas than New York state graduates with all students. If you haven’t heard the story of Rockeville Centre District… keep reading.

This week (my second week of class here at TC), we had a presentation from the former Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Delia Garrity, who helped lead the reform effort in RVC. The premise of reform was simple: every student in the district deserves the best education possible and this is not happening. The superintendent, with several principals, started simply, presenting the extreme inequity to teachers, parents, and community members with data. Eventually, no one could deny the problem: you can’t have an equal education for all when students are tracked into unequal curriculums. The superintendent believed that there will necessarily be a gap between students when the lowest tracks (where students are taught curriculum that pales in comparison with the honors curriculum) include more minority, low SES, special education, and ELL students than the general tracks.

So RVC stopped tracking. Completely. And in every subject, including math! They did it slowly, starting with the elementary and middle schools and finally moving to the high school. You can read the whole story here. The whole time, administrators and eventually teachers were driven by the belief that all students should have and can do well in an honors level education.

What about the highest achieving students? Well, as it turns out, they did better too. It really sounds too good to be true but the data (there is a ton) is very clear. The HS principal worked with two professors at the University of Colorado (my alma mater!) to write this article which presents a very compelling case. What made it work? The administration credit higher amount of support for struggling students, high expectations and belief in every student, and extensive professional development in differentiation for teachers (not to mention a ton of political patience).

I know this is a controversial thing to do. Detracking is a big deal in any district: but I think the most important part of this story is that RVC had to make a structural change to influence the belief that every student can learn at a high level. They couldn’t sustain that belief with rhetoric but had to take action: more support for struggling students, teachers, and parents along with a unified, honors level curriculum. All the right ingredients for change.

The frustrating part of this all: I am not going to be a superintendent next year. If I get a job in a school that tracks students (read: almost every school), it is unlikely that I will have enough of a voice to change the tracking structure at the school, much less the elementary and middle schools that feed it. BUT I CAN BELIEVE IN MY STUDENTS. Rockeville Centre along with the many districts who are now beginning the long process of detracking their curriculum show us that all students CAN achieve at an honors level if we believe in them and give them the support along the way. And maybe (after tenure?) I can be a voice to help move the curriculum structure in that direction.

Until then, I accept the job as subversive detracker, believing that every student in my class, even if it is general or skills tracked class, deserves an honors level education.