Question 3: Many people in our group are concerned that the District's single-minded strategy for closing the achievement gap is to eliminate "high end" learning opportunities and give all students -- regardless of ability, motivation or interest level -- the same curriculum, delivered in completely heterogeneous classrooms. They see this approach being enacted, for example, in the West HS "small learning communities" restructuring and they fear that it will permeate and determine the results of the middle school redesign effort. Do you think that this is a sound strategy for closing the achievement gap? Maya Cole, Michael Kelly, Lucy Mathiak and Arlene Silveira Madison United for Academic Excellence 2006 Madison School Board Candidate Forum January 17, 2006