[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6500696,"mediaKeyId","5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991","parentId",5548367,"title","Curriculum office outlines ELA resource review, phase guides and fall implementation timeline","audioSeconds",187,"startMs",1415750,"endMs",1603285,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991&start=1415&end=1603","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991/thumbnail_1415750.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6500696/Wisconsin/Curriculum-office-outlines-ELA-resource-review-phase-guides-and-fall-implementation-timeline","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6500696-aa92aa2de92ccba1428f41922f1ae395/orig.mp4?Expires=1776182688&Signature=nneS3USNoGADWK~PCC3tHYo4Y8YykairKgcS9Uv-W2gdWGU3Hy6vhL-Db~Hl9TsawIWOfFviuLMTo-R8IUcqgSv6NVBe8--otUsXbPIaQfeSlTFmeF4287ygYspVZh2Y5o~b8HxwfVLdQzP64ruEodBWQ3ufOiJbYW-nSPFb--kdHhYxlnBE24j7pzURJMa~497zGX7ByclJZ2Yzl7vi~jTO~QchxnfCnIlT5Si2nhL4eztLZ~iXQq60ImY9aMyce8z-hDhdT6WBKaUGdr85LUvJ3snWCXi2RnllCIEY0zF5hkqKAp3seaVRlcdyyD~pjm25Rnn6mK3t8DRcNcPT0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","School Board of Wisconsin ","date","2025-08-06T01:26:59.06Z","article","Kelly Downs, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, updated the West Bend School District curriculum committee on Aug. 5 about summer curriculum work and plans for the coming school year.

Downs said the curriculum office has been developing standardized \"phase guides\" for professional-development facilitators so teams move through curriculum phases in a consistent way. \"One of our big pieces has been developing phase guides for each one of these phases so that our facilitators will have a standardized process to move through and that we can guide them through in a consistent manner,\" she said.

Adrienne Schneider and Downs reported that the district’s sixth‑through‑tenth grade ELA team has begun phase‑one work and moved into a resource review (phase 2b). Downs said the team’s work mirrors a recent math resource review: teams will evaluate practices and resources and recommend materials with the goal of maximizing student proficiency. \"We're hoping to then be able to kind of see it through, for the end of the school year to be able to be in implementation at this time next year,\" Downs said.

Staff said literacy specialists for middle and high school will meet later in August to ground ELA teachers in K–5 literacy practices so secondary instruction aligns with elementary foundations. Downs said PLC leaders will be trained, administrators briefed on roles, and that four days of teacher training are scheduled starting on the 11th (month implied by the committee’s August calendar).

Downs added that the department is organizing timelines so committees know which teams will present and when. The curriculum office also is consolidating prior curricular documents and the recently completed \"I can\" statements into a formal curriculum format for review as part of the phase work.

Committee members expressed support for the collaborative approach and asked staff to bring a year-long layout in September showing expected team presentations and deliverables. Staff said they will return with regular updates throughout the year.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Curriculum Committee Meeting - 8/5/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Director of curriculum Kelly Downs and staff described summer work to create phase guides, start a sixth‑through‑tenth grade ELA resource review, train facilitators and PLC leaders, and begin teacher implementation training in August.","taxTitle","West Bend School District, School Districts, Wisconsin","taxId",76567,"location","Wisconsin","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6500700,"West Bend committee debates how to define 'limited' and 'excessive' content for book approvals",777,397189,1174889,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991&start=397&end=1174","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991/thumbnail_397189.jpg","/articles/6500700/Wisconsin/West-Bend-committee-debates-how-to-define-limited-and-excessive-content-for-book-approvals","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6500700-064c9f215075b3a65837a7ca0babe1a6/orig.mp4?Expires=1776182688&Signature=FWCH-mCZXZgHx57cM3wXXPN-UItdFcqEfDKO9eoyAt4-apXoDA2BYbh0ptTWGyx6d-vP3GtOvCrEB5N0NDyvekWEybGnUYoo6ewy4NLd88XfQYcK5Zkjcre3kd5mHOUmafGhJW86OWeiEWrc1kUsxZ6WjiYbHrAZhqq-OHZBY6Dfyt3U9NRfiCyPgFUnYRhohYP7jrnt-aUqS5aW7~KqRYEPOooN5w6AMULIEmSBc4IFDCzORGWwuT9wuD52gibs3-bD1QcdNI3cEJR~V4gNBb78zrkZf0X94AMcUq2rGvbjU4EKsJ7iPtrhu0b2dwRMN6wYW~IyFV8gWiV4tujjTw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Dr. Jennifer Wimmer, the curriculum committee liaison, told the West Bend School District curriculum committee on Aug. 5 that staff want to refine how the district defines content thresholds for book approvals and to surface clearer criteria for the full board and policy committee.

\"We made a commitment to kind of drive a little bit deeper conversation into the 2 committees,\" Wimmer said, explaining that curriculum and policy committees would continue work that began at a prior full-board meeting. She said staff plan to bring proposed clarifications to a policy meeting on Aug. 19 and then back to the full board.

Committee members discussed two principal changes: (1) splitting the district’s current 9–12 grouping into narrower bands (for example, 9–10 and 11–12) or recognizing accelerated/honors tracks, and (2) refining what constitutes \"limited\" versus \"excessive\" content. June Krueger and other members suggested development and course placement affect maturity and access to material; Krueger offered an approach that considers whether profanity or other language is concentrated in a single character or appears across multiple main characters.

Wimmer and the committee also debated whether evaluators should weigh the context — for example, whether objectionable language or behavior is depicted critically or is glorified — and whether prevalence should be measured by scenes, characters, or thematic weight. She said staff will try to translate these qualitative judgments into workable guidance for reviewers without creating an unmanageable workload.

\"We don't wanna get ourselves in a trap of where we're having to individually analyze all these books,\" Wimmer said, noting the policy committee will review legal and procedural considerations. Members asked staff to return with proposed language and examples that could be applied consistently at the committee level.

The committee did not adopt final definitions or new grade bands at the meeting; Wimmer said curriculum staff will take the discussion into policy committee work, consult teachers and vetters, and bring back recommended language for the board to consider.","Curriculum committee members discussed splitting high-school grade bands, how to measure profanity/excess, and whether content is glorified or central to a book's theme; staff will take recommendations to the policy committee on Aug. 19.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6500705,"West Bend expands book-club permission form language and adds The Transall Saga to eighth-grade list",141,44995,186155,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991&start=44&end=186","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5548367-b1a8bc1c2db7ed8ec90b147a024d7991/thumbnail_44995.jpg","/articles/6500705/Wisconsin/West-Bend-expands-book-club-permission-form-language-and-adds-The-Transall-Saga-to-eighth-grade-list","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6500705-c83c54a656d1774b253bc6ee5d8c99c1/orig.mp4?Expires=1776182688&Signature=kZW66OVFzDsavrSb-wxGFiQ-kYXpvhZMEwwHXvxKPSEc6lxLrRIO6-sPGh0qnPWeWW0VjHtiub-EwtZ2ukEUMM-Fe9IvK7cv42TOmnh0XC7PU-hue4s6BUf5htd-QBvMV88eD3pol6WM-SibDEd3vDnt6zbw3X2wIZCRBhxsfmNchajhV24zzw9TJJ8PkOlpoowzrUTss0iqsIXZsIzyMC59fZRZLz00SRXlEXg25RNkAIs42MwinOtgOTPORm-yqgd2jD4ZrgnlrvocSi6hhOMBN2It7w2HmhPusDgMDd6kBh3lnV0irsy2cJSv2YGXlQ75a69dmBw~O2ICK-hQIQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The West Bend School District curriculum committee on Aug. 5 agreed to add clearer language to its book-club permission documents and moved to include The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen on the district’s eighth-grade book-club list.

Committee members said the changes to the permission form are intended to make the district’s content thresholds — listed as “none,” “limited” and “some” by grade band — more explicit for families. Adrienne Schneider, program administrator, told the committee that the permission form will retain its current structure while gaining “updated clarifying language” on definitions used to rate titles for content.

Schneider said the eighth-grade team asked that The Transall Saga be added to the quarter‑1 list. The committee review found the title “did hit, with that limited in in some of the scenes for, the violence,” Schneider said, and noted the book contains “no ****** content, there’s no obscene language.” She added the title is already part of the district collection and therefore “adding it does not have a financial impact to the district.”

Board member Melanie Ergot said expanding clarity on the permission form is positive for families. The committee also discussed that an external review site referenced in older materials — the Booklooks website — went offline in March; members agreed the permission-form column referencing that site should be updated or removed.

The committee did not take a formal recorded vote during the meeting; staff said the addition follows the district’s existing review thresholds and that teachers will be notified so they can plan book-club selections. The revised permission form language and the updated quarter‑1 book list will move forward for inclusion in district materials and be shared with teachers and families.

The committee did not cite any change in budget or a required formal board vote for the addition. Staff said other elements of the district’s vetting process are under review in parallel with the policy committee’s upcoming discussion.","The West Bend School District curriculum committee agreed to clarify language on its book-club permission form and to add The Transall Saga to the eighth-grade book-club list after a content review that flagged limited violence but no obscene language; the title is already in the district collection so there is no added cost.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Curriculum office outlines ELA resource review, phase guides and fall implementation timeline

West Bend committee debates how to define 'limited' and 'excessive' content for book approvals

West Bend expands book-club permission form language and adds The Transall Saga to eighth-grade list