Olivia Batist is taking honors math and physics, but her friend — whom she thinks is just as smart — is not. Batist, a ninth grader at DSST: Conservatory Green in northeast Denver, believes the difference is that her friend’s parents aren’t able to advocate for their daughter the same way her own parents have advocated for her.
“Not being in advanced courses despite being fully prepared for them doesn’t just hurt a student academically, it hurts them psychologically too,” Olivia said, using a pseudonym for her friend. “I have to watch as Lily starts to believe that she’s not smart enough, and is just too dumb because nobody believes in her the way she believes in herself.”
A bill that passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee Thursday would make it more likely that students like Olivia’s friend will get to realize their potential. Its backers also hope that it will reduce racial and economic disparities in who takes Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and other more challenging classes.
