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Brookline teachers and parents defend WISP; district to run multi‑year data review and will not offer honors next fall
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Summary
Teachers, curriculum leaders and parents spoke at the Brookline School Committee meeting in support of WISP (World History, Identity, Status, and Power), urging the committee to trust the teacher‑led curriculum process. District leaders said a comprehensive analysis using a new OpenArchitects dashboard is underway and that an honors WISP will not be implemented next fall; options will return in the fall.
Teachers, parents and union leaders urged the Brookline School Committee on Feb. 26 to allow the district’s established curriculum process to evaluate WISP, the ninth‑grade World History, Identity, Status, and Power course.
In a lengthy public‑comment period, multiple BHS teachers and curriculum coordinators described WISP as a carefully developed, research‑informed approach that uses a shared core curriculum with differentiated entry points so students of varying readiness can access challenging material. "WISP allows us to hold all students to high expectations while providing the support needed to meet a wide range of learning needs," said Sarah Shuster, a ninth‑ and tenth‑grade social‑studies teacher.
Justin Brown, president of the Brookline Educators Union, cautioned that a "top‑down directive" to mandate course structure would depart from the district’s educator‑driven course development process and could trigger bargaining over working conditions. Several teachers described multi‑year work, external site visits, alignment to state standards, and extensive teacher collaboration behind WISP’s design.
District presenters — High School Principal Anthony Meyer and history‑department coordinator Jen Martin — framed the course’s goals and the evidence the district plans to assemble. Martin said the district has contracted OpenArchitects to build a dashboard that will trace nearly a decade of student records to disaggregate outcomes by demographics and course choices. "We are collecting nearly a decade's worth of data," she said, adding that the dashboard should be ready for staff use in mid‑March and that full findings would be reported in the fall.
Martin also said the district is not prepared to offer an honors version of WISP next fall for logistical and programmatic reasons. "We are not prepared to offer an honors WISP next fall," she said, adding that the department will develop options over the summer and present choices to the committee in the fall after the analysis.
Committee members pressed presenters on key questions — whether WISP improves AP enrollment or outcomes for students of color and students with disabilities, how the district will measure student classroom experience, and what the counterfactual is (the prior leveled model). Hal Mason, who spoke for the high‑school data team, said state data are coarse and school data are more detailed. He and Martin emphasized that a rigorous, disaggregated analysis will be necessary before the committee considers structural course changes.
No formal policy or course‑mandate vote was taken. Presenters said they will share analysis and options publicly when available. The committee moved on to a separate FY27 budget update later in the meeting.
