To the Editor:
As stated on the Board of Education website, “The mission of the Bayonne Public School District is to provide optimum learning opportunities for all students to set high standards and expectations for student achievement.” Are these in reality wasted, perfunctory, empty politically correct words.
Example #1: You have a “regular” student in level A, excels, and wants to learn more and be challenged in an “Advanced Placement” subject(s). The director says “no” because you are not in the “Academy.” Is this fair?
Example #2: You have a transfer to BHS from an “Honors” Program, excels and wants a quality education, as advertised, by enrolling in “Advanced Placement” subject(s). The director provides the same reply with the identical reason. Is this just?
The “Academy” is a very worthwhile program. This is without question; still, some students have a problem with coming at 7:55 due to home responsibilities, having lunch at 10:15, leaving homeroom friends after 2-3 years, being confined to one wing for most classes, and missing out on the enrichment of a diverse student population.
Directors will appear with seniors praising acceptances to prestigious universities. Still, each would have been ill-prepared without taking AP courses. As a counselor, I am a student advocate. It is unfair, unjust.
BHS is a public school not an academy. I close with the borrowed admonition, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”
CHARLES NUZIALE