Honors Courses at Grand Oaks High School

My children have always taken honors classes along with 1-3 AP classes every year. This allows them to be challenged academically, but still remain successful amidst all of their extracurricular activities. Getting rid of honors classes at GOHS will then require my students to either overload their schedules with more AP classes or force them into classes that don’t challenge them enough. Our family strongly disagrees with this decision to get rid of honors courses and we are petitioning the school to reconsider.

Students should have a middle-ground option for advanced students who do not want to take AP but still would like a higher GPA, as an honors course would provide,

Removing AP classes leaves a gap that only hurts both teachers and students. Our students who are stronger than level courses but not quite ready for AP will fall into gaps - either jumping into AP unprepared and potentially unsuccessful and discouraged or not being engaged in the classroom due to boredom. It removes the chance to push students forward without setting them up for failure. Providing Honors classes gives students confidence before attempting AP and can prevent students from losing a clear academic pathway. Keeping Honors classes would benefit teachers too - without these courses teachers will need to focus on basic skills and advanced extensions at the same time, giving fewer opportunities for advanced students to be challenged. In a district where “All Means All” it seems like having courses that provide the appropriate level of academic challenge on all levels would be most beneficial. Don’t take away Honors classes and widen gaps even more.

4 months ago Featured

Consider those kids not ready for DC/AP but want a more challenging curriculum. Student athletes will have a tough time with DC/AP since they are required to be at the school from 7am-9pm on game days and 7am-5pm on every other day with practice. It’s quite unrealistic they will keep up with the work

We are very upset about this change to honors classes. It makes zero sense!

I have two students at Grand Oaks and hope you’ll reconsider. High school is stressful, and GOHS is large enough to offer students multiple options to better prepare them for college. Also, enrollment in some honors classes may be higher than the corresponding AP class due to the reputation of the honors teacher so please consider this when analyzing data. Our area is known for great schools. The lack of transparency in these decisions that will impact so many of our students is beyond disappointing. I expect more.

Bring back honor classes

Very frustrated we’re eliminating so many honors courses. My child is not ready for the full load of AP classes but wants to be challenged more than level classes offer.

Bring back honor classes.

My incoming 9th grader has been registered for all honors classes, and that is the most appropriate place for him to be, especially just starting high school. Does Dr. Price even have the authority to unilaterally make this level of change? This decision is not in the best interest of the students and if it goes through it will hinder them for the rest of their lives. I was part of a similar experimental curriculum in my youth and it was so bad it was discontinued after a year - but - we were never taught the things we missed and to this day I suffer for it. I will be damned if I’m going to sit back and watch the same thing happen with my son and the thousands of other kids who will be so negatively affected by this ridiculous decision

I will have a son at GOHS next year.

AP & DC is very hard for athletes to keep up with and play sports. Honors is a great middle point for these kids. Also, keeps the kids that cause issues out of the class so these other kids are able to focus. They also help their GPA. Honors are extremely important.

I strongly urge you to reconsider the decision to remove honors-level classes. There is a clear and important need for coursework that provides appropriate rigor for students who want to be challenged without committing to the intensity of AP classes. My daughter is a senior this year and has consistently taken honors and AP courses throughout high school. However, due to work commitments this year, she made the thoughtful decision to step back from AP English and enroll in a levels course instead. Unfortunately, that class has not met her academic needs—it lacks the depth and challenge she is accustomed to and capable of handling. Eliminating honors options creates an unnecessary gap, forcing students to choose between two extremes: courses that are not rigorous enough and those that may be unrealistically demanding given other responsibilities. This does a disservice to motivated students who are trying to balance academics with extracurriculars, jobs, and other commitments while still striving for meaningful academic growth. I respectfully ask that you take this into serious consideration. Maintaining honors-level courses is not just beneficial—it is essential to meeting the diverse academic needs of our students.

Please bring all Honors classes back to GOHS!

I have kids that would benefit from honors classes. There is a significant difference between level classes and AP classes. I was a student that excelled in honors classes and AP classes were too much and too hard for me. So if it weren’t for honors classes, I would have had to take all level classes if I were a student today and that is just unacceptable.

Removing this opportunity for thousands of students is WRONG

This is a disadvantage for kids who want a more challenging course than levels but aren't ready for AP. This affects so many students and will ruin class rankings which affects their college applications. BRING HONORS BACK!!

So many kids benefit from honors classes, including my own. They thrive in classes that are more challenging than level classes, but aren’t necessarily ready to take on the rigor of an AP class. I worry that many kids will overload themselves by signing up for AP classes when they aren’t fully ready prepared for them, because after being in honors classes for years, level classes feel like a step backward. Please bring back the honors options!

This is a huge disadvantage to so many students by removing honors classes!

We need honors courses to challenge our students who aren’t ready for AP classes