District looks at course levels: CG middle school parents worried classes too easy

Center Grove middle-schoolers can take honors math and English courses and earn high school credits from Algebra I and foreign language courses, but some parents wonder if they should be offered more challenging classes.

Middle school courses have been a concern for Center Grove parents recently. During the summer, several parents told the school board they were worried classes weren’t challenging their students enough, and that they wouldn’t be prepared for tougher high school and college-level courses.

The school district already had planned to review its courses this fall but added some of the concerned parents to the group doing that review so they could have a say in what was offered to their students.

Multiple schools in Franklin, Greenwood, Avon and Wayne Township open up advanced classes, such as Algebra I, to students as early as seventh grade. They also have courses such as Algebra II and geometry available at the middle school level. Eighth-graders can take biology or other high-ability science courses.

Center Grove also offers Algebra I to eighth-graders. Algebra II is offered to middle school students, but they have to take the class at the high school, director of curriculum Wendy Kruger said.

The schools do not offer high-ability science or social studies classes.

Center Grove reviews its advanced middle school courses every six or seven years.

“It’s just part of our cyclical review,” she said.

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