2 Schools Seek to Join English, Social Sciences

English and history teachers at two Orange Unified School District high schools will try to buck the reduced class-size trend tonight in an effort to help more students.

By combining English and history into one interdisciplinary block, the teachers at El Modena and Canyon high schools said that adding a few more students to their 20-member classes will give an academic boost to all.

Long before Gov. Pete Wilson unveiled his statewide plan to help elementary classes reduce their size, the Legislature had passed a program allowing high schools to reduce one grade’s class size in one subject.

The vast majority of schools chose to restrict ninth-grade English classes to 20 students. That policy has ruled for eight to 10 years, Assistant Supt. Neil McKinnon said.

“It’s a good program, but it’s very limited,” he said.

The problem is that the state law only allows the program to apply to one subject, officials said.

The principals at the two high schools have prepared a waiver asking the state to share the reduced-size English program with social science classes. The average class size would work out to about 26 students per teacher.

The district is required to hold a public hearing on the matter, and parents can voice their support or protests tonight.

District trustees also are set to vote on stiffer graduation requirements for middle school students.

The new rules would put middle schools on a trimester grading schedule instead of a quarter system.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at district headquarters, 1401 N. Handy St. Information: (714) 997-6221.