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Board reviews curriculum cycle and celebrates jump in ninth‑grade on‑track measures; freshman seminar proposed
Summary
Administrators outlined the district's multi-year curriculum review process and the five-year update cycle for courses, reported preliminary gains in ninth-grade on-track measures and said a proposed ninth-grade seminar will come to the board in October.
District instructional staff described the curriculum process the board follows each year and tied it to classroom implementation and student supports. The district said curriculum work begins in January for the cycle that produces fall course offerings: lead teachers propose new courses (about six this year), departments review changes and curriculum writing generally happens over the summer.
Administrators told the board every course is reviewed on a roughly five-year cycle, textbooks and digital resources are included in that schedule, and some subjects may be moved earlier if urgent changes are needed. Staff said much of the curriculum-writing effort occurs before teachers receive an honorarium because planning and initial outlines begin as soon as a course is approved.
Superintendent Dr. Wiesman presented a one-page school improvement plan and said preliminary data show a notable increase in the district’s ninth-grade on-track measure for the past year. The board discussed behavior metrics that the district monitors — "behavior on track" (students with 0–3 referrals) and "behavior critical" (students with 11 or more referrals) — and the district’s goal to keep behavior-critical students at or below 5%.
Administrators said the district will extend its My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) program to include a female group this year, budgeted funds for a grow-your-own program, and allocated extra dollars to reduce extracurricular fees to improve access. The board also heard that instructional rounds and periodic red/yellow/green progress reports will be used in October, January, March and June to track strategy implementation.
The board was told a proposed ninth-grade seminar advisory course will be presented for approval in October for implementation next year; the district said teachers and lead staff are already preparing outlines and some curriculum writing occurs prior to formal approval.
Board members praised the improvement in ninth-grade on-track measures and asked staff to monitor the cohort as it progresses to ensure gains persist beyond ninth grade.
