An email was sent to Troy School District families outside Detroit in April last year. Signed by unnamed “concerned Troy parents,” it said that a district proposal for its middle schools to end “basic” and “honors” math classes for sixth and seventh graders was part of a longer-term district plan to completely abolish honors classes in all of its schools.
Superintendent Richard Machesky was stunned, as were his team. The district did propose to combine separate sixth-and seventh-grade math tracks, which it claimed would create a single rigorous pathway that would emphasize pre-algebra abilities. Eighth grade students can choose either Algebra I or Eighth Grade Math. However, the district did not plan to make any changes to other grades.
Machesky, along with a team of math and curriculum specialists from the district, had revealed the plan to parents of middle school students currently enrolled and those who were preparing to enroll. Parents had largely expressed support, said Machesky: “We thought we were hitting the mark.”
It doesn’t matter. The email blast prompted opposition to attend both a workshop for the board and a townhall. A More than 3,000 individuals signed the petition urging that the plan not be implemented ….
