In 2021, Newton Public Schools instituted multilevel classrooms at the district’s two high schools.

Instead of having different classes for each course level, students of similar course levels would be grouped together. 

It sparked a debate among members of the school district.

Parents are divided as well.

“I think it’s due to him having been in the multi-level class that he was then able to take the AP class. I don’t know if he would have been able to make the jump over honors otherwise,” said Laura Towvim, a Newton North parent.

Towvim said her son told her that being around students at higher levels encouraged him to challenge himself academically.

Sana Fadel, another Newton North parent, had a similar experience.

Fadel said that, from her perspective, the multilevel setting allowed their child to advance in course level without having to make a change within their schedule.

Under a system with different courses for each level, Fadel believes that her child would have had to make significant schedule changes in order to move up.

But other parents disagree.

One Newton North parent, who asked not to be named in this story, said their child was placed in a multilevel classroom where they weren’t being challenged. They had asked to be placed in an AP mathematics class but were told they were not allowed.

So, according to the parent, their child studied for the exam and passed.

“It wasn’t because they taught him,” the parent said.

Anatoli Polkovnikov, a Newton parent and professor of physics at Boston University, said that a multilevel environment may hinder an essential aspect of education, discussion.

“I encourage students to ask questions because that’s the first thing you have to learn,” he said.

He explained that students might feel insecure about asking questions in an environment where others might already understand the curriculum.

His wife, Irena, said some parents have sent their children to supplemental after-school mathematics programs, like the Russian School of Math, because they aren’t being challenged by their courses.

Within this discussion, there have been disagreements between, educators, administrators, and parents on what should be done around multilevel classrooms.

Meanwhile, students wait for the district to compile data on how the multilevel classroom initiative is affecting student learning, which officials have said will be released later this school year.

“I don’t like that I’m basically a lab rat,” said Danique Polkovnikov, an 8th-grade student at Charles E. Brown Middle School.

Though one student’s perspective doesn’t represent that of the whole student population, it gives a reminder of what’s at stake in decisions about education.