WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Teachers in the Westfield Washington school district are challenging Indiana’s new diploma standards.

They say the new standards fail to prepare students for college or the demands of the global workforce.

Indiana is proposing new high school diploma standards for the class of 2029 that would emphasize work-based learning. In middle school, students will choose between the Graduated Prepared to Success (GPS) diploma and the GPS Plus diploma.

Andrew Schaaf, a Westfield High School math teacher, said, “At age 15, 16, or 17, you might think you know what interests you, but how do you actually know unless you can experience different courses?”

One of the primary grievances Westfield teachers share is a lack of attention dedicated to core academic subjects such as math, science, social studies, and foreign languages.

Schaaf said, “When you limit requirements and what students have access to, you also limit their perspective, and they may not recognize what’s interesting to them, and, at some level, that limits their future. As educators, the last thing we want to do is limit their future. We’re interested in promoting a future.”

The teachers want a more robust curriculum that adequately prepares students for future challenges.

Nikki Heflin, Westfield’s career and technical education teacher said, “Some of my concerns are that so much work has already been put into the career pathways. Specifically, students as early as middle school are required to pick a very stringent course pathway for themselves, and it requires such a focus that students aren’t really able to, much less the flexibility, and middle and high school is really time meant for them to explore.”

Teachers expressed significant concerns over the possible elimination of the Honors programs. It’s raising alarms among teachers who believe the change could diminish the academic difficulty necessary for students after high school.

Jen Haslar Troutman, a Westfield High School Spanish-language teacher, said, “They want to earn proof, kind of like someone would extend themselves and train for a marathon. You want to try hard and be good at something. I don’t want to discourage students from striving to excel.”

Jennifer McCormick, a Democratic candidate for Indiana governor, says she hopes for a more common sense approach. “A high school redesign should be about a rigorous look at transferrable skills to prepare kids for 4 to 5 decades, knowing that they will have to be communicators and great problem solvers. But what I would charge is that this new high school redesign is going backwards.”

With less emphasis on core subjects and the removal of advanced programs, many teachers fear that graduates may struggle to meet even college admission requirements. They hope to give kids more options.

Schaaf said, “Colleges get to set their own requirements if you know what’s required of students, we may be limiting the colleges or opportunities students can have after high school graduation in Indiana.”

The Indiana State Board of Education will meet on Wednesday to discuss the new diploma standards, and some Westfield teachers will be in attendance.