Pennridge approves cut to social studies requirements despite widespread opposition
Numerous Pennridge students voiced concerns that the plan would deprive students of course opportunities, while teachers argued that social studies teaches critical thinking.
A divided Pennridge school board voted Monday to scale back high school social studies requirements from four credits to three, despite impassioned opposition from teachers, students, and community members.
The credit reduction — approved by a 5-4 vote — will take effect in the Bucks County school district next year. Other changes approved by the board include the addition of a half credit in personal finance, and a reduction in physical education credits; most will go into effect for current freshmen, district administrators said, noting that the total credit requirement remains at 24.
Board member Megan Banis-Clemens said the social studies reduction would give students more flexibility in what courses they take, helping prepare them for different career or college paths.
» READ MORE: A proposal to cut social studies requirements in Pennridge is drawing backlash
Her argument was sharply criticized by fellow board members, as well as more than two dozen people who spoke during public comment. Numerous Pennridge students voiced concern the plan would deprive students of course opportunities, while teachers argued that social studies teaches critical thinking and exposes students not just to history, but fields like psychology and international relations.
They also questioned the stated rationale for the change. The district is simultaneously considering a shift to block scheduling, which some noted would enable students to take more courses without reducing any credit requirements.
Stephanie Nash, a social studies teacher at Pennridge High School for 24 years, said she has “not had one student this year, or in the recent past,” tell her they didn’t have room in their schedule for a desired course. More often, she said, she hears students excited to have only three courses in a given semester and then “go home and take a nap.”
“Do we want our school to be the one known as requiring less of our students than other schools?” she asked. District administrators have said that top high schools in Pennsylvania require four credits, while Banis-Clemens has pointed to Radnor and Tredyffrin/Easttown as high-performing districts that require only three.
Others who spoke said they had not heard a single community member voice support for the plan.
Board member Ron Wurz — who started a petition to maintain the four-credit requirement that garnered more than 1,000 signatures — listed his “top 10″ reasons to vote no on the plan, including that the board had recently approved a new social studies curriculum that took three years to complete, and that the faculty and administrators had called for maintaining four credits.
“I trust their expertise over anyone on this board,” Wurz said.
Banis-Clemens said that “the experts” had supplied incorrect information to her about graduation and college requirements. “I’ve had to do a lot of my own research,” she said, before reading from a statement that, in part, disputed teachers’ assertions that reducing social studies credit requirements would require an expensive rewrite of middle and high school curriculum.
The plan approved Monday had shifted since it was presented at a recent board meeting. A previous version would have eliminated a requirement for world history, a prospect that triggered particular uproar.
Banis-Clemens said the board would direct district administration to “bring curriculum similar to the Radnor model,” which requires three years of social studies encompassing economics and government, U.S. history, and world history.
The Pennridge board is no stranger to controversy. In the wake of contentious school board elections last year, the board ended the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion program and barred teachers from “advocacy” activities like displaying Pride flags in classrooms.
The social studies debate divided Republican board members. (Among those opposed to the credit reduction was Joan Cullen, who was not reelected board president Monday.) But some in the community still saw politics in the latest decision.
One man, who identified himself as a graduate of the district’s technical school, said he agreed Pennridge should be more like Radnor. “You could start by reviewing their DEI policy,” he said to loud applause.