We are petitioning to the Jericho BOE to rescind its proposal to reject the credits from Windsor program as currently there is NO alternative double accelerate program available for Jericho students on science and engineering track. Under current circumstances, rejecting Windsor credits will cause tremendous detriment to these students and will inevitably affect Jericho school’s research and science ratings.

We disagree with BOE to discredit the Windsor programs. Since Jericho does not offer any honor course while almost all other Long Island school districts do, Windsor credits have been the ONLY viable option for Jericho students to have a double accelerate science track to pursue further-enhanced learning. The pursuit of further-enhanced learning, in our belief, is an academic right that every Jericho student is entitled to and shall not be deprived of. 

Given that Windsor programs are the only viable option, we are afraid that without them, the students on accelerate science track won’t be able to take Physics or AP Physics 1 course until 11th grade. According to the college board, AP physics 1 will cover only around 30-40 percent of the knowledge in SAT subject physics exam. As a result, students won’t be ready to prepare for SAT subject physics exam without self learning the other physics materials covered in AP Physics 2 or AP Physics C.  It will put our students on a highly disadvantaged position when competing with other Long Island students who have achieved higher knowledge level from their honor courses. Although exam scores are not the only measurement of student performance, they are still the most important factor in college applications and it is still essential for students to excel in standardized exams. 

The school administrators insist that the students will not reach their science mindset maturity to double accelerate science course starting from middle school. By delaying the advanced science curriculum until 11th grade, the students in 11th grade will experience a sudden burden with not only SAT exams, college application but also a much heavier advanced science courses. In recent years, there has been a lot of tragedies happened in high schools due to over-stress. Without averaging the total course burden over several years, but pushing all the burden until the last one year before college application, an eruption of academic related stress problems will be expected. 

In a word, without an alternative program, we CANNOT afford the loss of Windsor credits and we hate to see the rating of Jericho schools fall due to the students’ lack of access to enhanced knowledge. 

Therefore, we petition to the BOE to continue accepting Windsor credits unless a double accelerate science track curriculum has been proposed. For example, to consider having the Earth Science course open for 7th graders, to allow double science courses open for 8th graders (Earth Science course and Living Environment course).