Virginia family condemns school math revamp for equity boost: We want ‘focus on academics, not politics'
The state of Virginia has proposed to cancel advanced math options for students before eleventh grade
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}America’s students should be worried about academics while in school, not politics, Virginia mother of five Carrie Lukas argued Tuesday on "The Story with Martha MacCallum" in reaction to the state's plan to eliminate accelerated math.
"Virginia’s made a big mistake," Lukas said. "[We’re going to] try to be noisy about what we want and we really want challenging -- and a focus on -- academics, not on politics."
The state of Virginia has proposed to cancel advanced math options for students before eleventh grade to improve equity. The proposal will remove geometry and calculus as requirements and students have reported this could leave them feeling unprepared for future academic and professional ventures.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Parents have just been incredibly frustrated over this last year by the loss of learning," she continued. "So many Virginia schools have remained closed and it is incredibly frustrating to have them toying with the idea of reducing the rigor in math of all things."
Meredith Lukas, Virginia public school eighth-grader and daughter of Carrie Lukas, said she’s enjoying learning at the level she is now in math and would like to continue being challenged.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I really like my math class right now because it’s the right level for me but I know if it was easier, I’d be very bored and would not enjoy it," she said. "I also hate the idea of my little siblings not being able to have the same opportunities in math as I have."
Even though this proposal is meant to boost equity, Carrie Lukas said she doesn’t believe it will have any positive impact on the equity of Virginians at all. In fact, parents will most likely begin pulling their kids out of public schools and relocating to private institutions.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Families with means are going to escape and take their kids to private schools and it’s going to be those who are not able to leave the schools that are going to suffer the most," she said. "So this is not going to advance equity."