Secondary curriculum council proposes new honors course, textbooks and four novels for review

The Secondary Curriculum Council reviewed and approved several course and instructional materials recommendations for secondary schools and will forward them to the board for formal approval at the June meeting.

Coordinator Michelle Harland summarized the spring slate: adding an honors option to the existing Social Justice in U.S. History course (the concentrator course for the education pathway, which counts as a social studies graduation requirement); an AP Macroeconomics textbook for the AP Macro course the board approved in January; two reference textbooks for a newly approved soccer PE course (strength training and conditioning references); and four novels for English classes.

The novels the council approved for recommendation are: The Best We Could Do, an illustrated memoir addressing the refugee and immigrant experience (intended for grades 9–11, with planned use in 11th grade); Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (recommended for 10th‑grade English); Accountable, a long‑form nonfiction piece about a racist social‑media account and its consequences (recommended for 10th grade); and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part‑Time Indian (recommended for 9th grade). Harland said the textbooks and novels are available in the boardroom for public review and that materials were vetted by teachers and the curriculum council.

The council’s recommendations reflected efforts to broaden representation in the secondary book list and to provide teacher choice for unit planning; staff said final adoption will come to the board on June 9.