Op-Ed: Dream Bigger for Our High School Students
Stamford Board of Education Vice President Shares Ideas for Empowering City’s High Schoolers
In recent years, Stamford parents, students, and teachers have repeatedly raised their voices, especially around proposed schedule changes at the high school level. But beneath that ongoing debate lies a deeper truth: there is widespread dissatisfaction with the climate and academic rigor in our high schools.
Rather than reacting to change, what if we came together to lead it? What if we dreamed big for our students — and demanded high schools that prepared them not just to graduate, but to thrive?
There’s no shame in having high expectations for our students — or for the educators who support them. Our kids are capable of more than we sometimes give them credit for. They can write essays, study for tests, put their phones away during class, and show up every day ready to learn. When we treat students as though they’re too fragile to be challenged, we do them a profound disservice.
Learning Must Be Non-Negotiable
Let’s begin with the basics: academics. Student learning must be the core mission of our high schools. Currently, there are no public goals for performance on assessments or opportunities for the community to review student progress. Test scores aren’t everything, but they matter and without clear goals, we risk spinning any result into a win without ever truly improving.
In our Stamford Public Schools (SPS) high schools, the 90-minute blocks offer an opportunity for deep, engaging learning. Yet while some teachers are creating dynamic, interactive classrooms, others are still lecturing for the full period. We should be leveraging collaborative time so teachers can learn from each other and replicate what works. Right now, teaching seems to be siloed, and the quality of instruction and student experience wildly vary across classrooms.
Assess What Matters and Share the Results
Assessments should go beyond compliance, they should serve students and families. Schools should share academic data with families so that they know how their students are performing against grade-level standards. The Board of Education, district and school leaders, and the community should also be able to review high school academic data on a regular basis, including how different teachers are helping students succeed. For example, which classrooms are achieving exceptional outcomes in Chemistry or Integrated Math? How can others learn from their success?
Right now, we rely on SAT scores and graduation rates, both lagging indicators that tell us what happened long after we can do anything about it. Let’s embrace leading indicators, like interim assessments, and continuous improvement so we can adapt in real time.
Too often, grades reflect participation or extra credit — like credit for wearing a festive outfit in December — rather than actual mastery of content. Remember that grades determine whether or not students pass classes, and those credits determine whether or not students graduate from high school. Grades should reflect whether students know the material. That means offering multiple opportunities to show what they’ve learned, rather than handing out points for compliance. Our students need to graduate with strong critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, not just transcripts.
Modernize Curriculum and Support Great Teaching
It’s time to update our curriculum, particularly in subjects like English, where students are still reading the same books from decades ago — and only one per quarter. In Math, we need to ensure teachers are equipped to teach the curriculum in ways that reflect current standards. Today’s students need updated methods of engagement and an understanding of how content is relevant to their lives and their future goals. Parents also need better tools to support their children at home, especially when it comes to advanced math. Not everyone can afford a tutor, nor should they need one when there are resources like Khan Academy that can be leveraged at home.
Any teacher will tell you that the amount of planning time they are given is never enough. Let’s embrace artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support data-driven instruction, planning for diverse learners, and drafting college recommendations so that teachers can spend their time connecting with students, planning creative ways of engaging, and internalizing lessons so that they have a deep understanding of content before they are delivering instruction to students.
Connect Learning to the Real World
Career-connected learning is gaining traction and we should build on that momentum. SPS has been building more robust pathways in our schools, from carpentry to the Academy of Finance and programs like Agriscience. But too often students and their families are unaware of these options and do not plan for their schedules accordingly. Let’s use middle school advisory periods and first-year high school seminars to help students explore pathways, chart their four-year plans, and connect classroom learning to their futures. Students who are engaged in career connected learning are more likely to complete high school and pursue post-secondary training or education.
As artificial intelligence reshapes our economy, our students also need AI literacy to navigate the future job market with confidence. Rather than just tell students that they can’t use AI, let’s support students in building critical thinking skills that allow them to apply a discerning lens to what they are seeing online. And let’s explicitly teach students how to use AI so that they are keeping up with the demands of the workforce.
Create a Culture Where Everyone Belongs — and Learns
Culture and climate matter deeply. Too many students from vulnerable groups are learning in classrooms where they do not feel represented or affirmed. According to a 2023 Dalio Education report, about 19% of young people in Connecticut were “at risk” or “disconnected.” Professional development in cultural proficiency and creating an inclusive environment is essential if we want all students to feel a sense of belonging. Meanwhile, teacher absenteeism is a growing problem, leading to gaps in learning and disengagement. Let’s make our schools places where students and teachers are excited to be. Leveraging tools like Google Classroom and AI can help ensure continuity even when teachers are out, but the goal should be fewer absences because schools are inspiring places to work and learn.
Groundbreaking research on learning tells us that students are most engaged when they can see evidence of their own learning, take on leadership, and work collaboratively towards a goal. Want a model? Look no further than the marching band and winter percussion program at Westhill High School led by Blair Roberts Charles. These programs accept all students — no experience necessary — and turn them into musicians, leaders, and teammates. This inclusive environment is particularly powerful given that many students did not receive music instruction during COVID-19. Students come from every demographic and academic background. They are held to high expectations, given real-time feedback, and pushed to grow. They experience progress, purpose, and joy.
What would it look like if more of the high school day looked like Band? Where students are deeply invested in their work, see the value in what they’re doing, and are held to a high bar by adults who believe in them?
We Deserve More for Our Students
As parents, students, and community members, we must demand more from our high schools. Let’s not take all our cues from the Stamford Education Association. Remember that the union’s job is to advocate for teachers’ working conditions and benefits. That advocacy might be important, but it does not always align with what’s best for students. And when that advocacy protects the jobs of ineffective teachers, these interests directly conflict with providing a high-quality education for all students.
Our students deserve schools that are modern, relevant, and rigorous. Teachers deserve the training and support to meet a high professional bar. And families deserve transparency and accountability.
Although the job market in the United States has changed significantly over the past few decades, our K-12 classrooms still operate the same way they did in the industrial era 100 years ago. The students of today need more than basic math and English skills to succeed in the workplace of the future. It’s time to dream big for our kids. Let’s come together, advocate, and build the high schools our kids need and deserve.
Versha Munshi-South currently serves as the vice president of the Stamford Board of Education and is the parent of two high school students. Her comments are her own, and do not represent the official views of the Board of Education.
🌊