School committee advances wellness curriculum adoption and a culinary curriculum subscription

The Beverly Public Schools Curriculum, Instruction & Student Life committee on June 11 recommended the district adopt a fitness-and-wellness curriculum and a culinary online curriculum supplement after consultations with subject-area teachers and external consultants.

At Beverly High School, the wellness selection followed work this year with consultants from the Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; high-school staff recommended a two-year subscription to a commercial wellness product to align instruction with the new Massachusetts health frameworks. Principal and curriculum leaders said the selection provides a consistent, district‑aligned set of lessons and activities for health and fitness instruction.

Supervisors also presented a culinary online resource to support the high‑school culinary lab. Administrators and a culinary department statement in the meeting packet described the program as a skills-based, lab-centered course with high enrollment; the digital subscription would provide recipes, knife-skill and food-safety modules and student access accounts to supplement in‑lab instruction.

The committee voted to forward both purchases to the full school committee. The high‑school wellness subscription (two‑year preferred quote) totaled roughly $17,000; a culinary online subscription was listed at approximately $1,000. The district said funding will come from a mix of approved curriculum funds and federal grants (Title IV and ESSER) and that training and implementation would be scheduled with teachers before fall term. Beverly Middle School will pilot the middle‑school wellness module in 2025–26 under a separate, one‑year purchase and ongoing consultant work.