A College Course Sparks Discussion

Carmel High School students got some insight into what it’s like to be a woman in leadership when two Carmel Central School District administrators visited their class last month.  

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Lauren Santabarbara and CHS Assistant Principal Allison Golan spoke to students in the college-level Racism, Classism and Sexism course about the impact that hidden biases can have on women at work. 

First, Santabarbara showed how symbols for companies like Mercedes, Amazon, Baskin Robbins and McDonald’s can trigger recognition and emotions related to a brand.  

“Every child knows what McDonald’s is,” she said. “From early on, those images are burned in our brain. We don’t even have to talk about them to know what they mean.” 

This led to the kind of high-level discussion often found in college classrooms.   

Students at Carmel High School have many opportunities to earn college credit. The school offers 36 Advanced Placement or dual enrollment college classes for which they can get credit at SUNY and several other colleges and universities. 

Santabarbara went on to show a sculpture of a woman balancing a tall stack of household items on her back and asked the students what it meant.  

“It just shows all the things that women have to do,” said Chris, a high school senior. “She has an ironing board and everything else just piled on her back.”  

“This is the weight they carry,” Django said. “All the responsibility is on their backs.”  

“It’s not even just the weight, she’s struggling to balance it all,” said another student.  

The students had lots of ideas about the impact that unspoken expectations can have on women, their careers and the choice of whether to have children.  

The course, which is team-taught by Social Studies Teachers Eric Frink and Kerry Hackert, is a partnership with SUNY and allows Carmel High School students to earn college credits. 

“They want to be here; that is the best part,” Frink said. “They don’t have to be here.” 

Taking college classes while in high school has several advantages.  

“Many of our kids can end up graduating high school with multiple college credits,” Principal Brian Piazza said. “The classes provide them with a level of rigor and an expectation of what college will be like. This is not only great for the students, but also a potential big savings for their families.”