When students at Lafayette and Warhill high schools register for classes, they have to make tough choices between the Advanced Placement courses offered and how to accommodate their schedule.
But at Jamestown High School, students have the luxury of easy access to a number of the courses. Not because Jamestown students are better or need more, but because the diversity of the student body has created a greater supply of high-achieving students, said Philip Canady, a member of the educational advocacy committee for The Village Initiative.
“I pay the same taxes as those that are districted to Jamestown, so why does my daughter go to a high school with fewer resources,” said parent Jennifer Bickham Mendez, a sociology professor at William & Mary.
Bickham Mendez is a member of The Village Initiative, an organization developed to promote unity and equality in Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools. In the past few years, The Village has done research on the school system’s dynamics and how it relates to inequality in resources.
Both Warhill and Lafayette have an economically disadvantaged student population between 29-35 percent, while Jamestown only has 19 percent. Students that come from more affluent homes are more likely to take higher-level courses, Bickham Mendez said. This provides Jamestown with an abundance of students interested in AP courses, while high-achieving students at the other schools lack in course opportunity.
“Socioeconomics in WJCC largely drives what is offered at the high schools, because with that affluence comes educated parents that can go in and advocate for the services they want their students to have versus providing universal opportunity,” Canady said.
In the 2016-2017 school year, Jamestown students took 734 AP exams, while Warhill students took 359 and Lafayette a mere 253. Currently, Jamestown offers 13-14 more sections of AP classes than the other two high schools, according to a report from Christie Scott, the internal communication officer for WJCC.
The disparity between the availability of AP course offerings can be directly related to the makeup of the student body, Canady said.
The district provides opportunities for high school students to be bused to another school to take AP courses not offered at their own or take them online. But this still presents an issue of access for students.
Part of the problem is that the school offers these in-classroom courses based on student demand, Bickham Mendez said. Schools decide to offer an AP course if there are at least 15 students interested in the class. At Jamestown, which not only has higher enrollments, but a larger population of students who come from economically-advantaged families equipped with the resources to provide support to their kids, greater student demand is easier to achieve.
But at the other two schools, not so much.
“The definition of ‘need’ has to be looked at,” Canady said. “Just because more students at Jamestown request it, doesn’t mean it isn’t needed at the other schools. If there are five students interested in a course, that’s five more students taking AP classes and having more opportunities when applying to college.”
But, Canady recognizes that resources are limited and schools have to stretch to address all the needs.
“As individual schools develop master schedules each year, the courses offered at each location are driven by student choice, and administrators work to make sure courses are offered at times that best meet the needs of all students,” said Cathy Worley, assistant superintendent for School Leadership.
The Village brought this issue to the school board during a meeting last year and suggested redistricting as a solution. By rezoning the district to evenly disperse minority and underprivileged students, Canady argues that the need for the resources would be more evenly dispersed.
However, WJCC schools decided not to redistrict the high schools and parents who see the concern remain frustrated.
“To just not do anything and accept the status quo as it is, is not something that’s going to benefit our community,” Canady said.
Instead, this fall WJCC announced a new five-year program, “Elevate: Beyond Excellence,” which they hope will address certain inequity issues in the schools. This plan does not include redistricting, but rather a strategy to create flexible instruction models to enhance individualized learning, according to the program’s website.
“Our desire to promote access, increase opportunities and eliminate barriers remains at the forefront of our work,” Worley said.
