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Board approves new English 9 novel, replacing Of Mice and Men with The House in the Cerulean Sea (6–1)
Summary
Northville Public Schools’ board voted 6–1 to adopt TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea as the new English 9 novel, replacing John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men; supporters said the novel is more engaging for current students while one trustee dissented citing depth and literary complexity concerns.
The Northville Public Schools board voted 6–1 Tuesday to approve a change in the English 9 curriculum, replacing John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men with The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune for English 9 and honors English 9.
The motion was presented by Dr. Campbell Voigtel and supported by Treasurer Stewart. "The biggest piece…is that the ELA 9 curriculum is very classic based, and there's a lot of heavy themes," Dr. Campbell Voigtel said while describing the department’s rationale to select a text that teachers judged more likely to engage current ninth‑grade readers.
Why it matters: Board and district staff said the English department reviewed options over several years and recommended the new novel to increase student engagement during a transitional year for many freshmen. Supporters described the book as approachable while providing opportunities to teach character development, plot progression and other analytical skills.
Dissent: Secretary Meyer recorded the lone no vote. Meyer said she respected the department’s work but opposed the change because she believed the proposed novel lacked the same depth and complexity traditionally sought for freshman literature instruction: "I admire the way they care about making literature meaningful and accessible to students, but I have concerns about this book being used instead of something like Mice and Men," Meyer said.
Vote: The board vote was 6–1 in favor; the motion carried.
Implementation and process: Trustees said the proposal followed the district’s curricular-review process: the English 9 teachers and department recommended the change, leadership reviewed it, and it came to the board after curriculum-level vetting. Board members said they appreciated the departmental rationale and stakeholder conversations and asked the district to monitor implementation and student engagement data.
