SMCPS to move required field experiences to Sotterley, shift middle‑school ELA and tweak elementary music scheduling for 2025–26

District curriculum staff presented a package of program updates for the 2025–26 school year at the Board of Education meeting on May 7, saying the changes respond to partner closures, publisher decisions and local scheduling priorities.

“...we have a wonderful partnership with Sotterley, and we were able to work with Sotterley to make sure that we can continue our required programming, which is at second, fifth, and seventh grade,” the presenter, Miss Bauchner, said, describing how the district will replace the programming previously provided by the environmental center that closed. Bauchner said second‑, fifth‑ and seventh‑grade students will continue to receive field experiences at Sotterley, and high‑school environmental content will remain embedded in school‑based coursework with occasional field trips.

On English language arts for middle school, staff said College Board’s SpringBoard (the district's prior supplementary curriculum for advanced middle‑school readers) is no longer being published in the same format. Bauchner said the district will continue with the previously approved Savvas My Perspectives ELA program, which includes print and digital differentiation tools for struggling and advanced learners. The district will preserve 90‑minute ELA blocks: in sixth grade one whole‑group My Perspectives block plus a 45‑minute literacy lab using data to group students; seventh grade will largely continue current practices with gifted students retaining differentiated placement; eighth grade programming will remain as this year. Bauchner said the district will offer reassessments during the summer for families who dispute placements and is pursuing tier‑2 interventions (the STARI program, in partnership with MSTE) to support at‑risk students.

Staff also described elementary special‑area scheduling changes intended to standardize music offerings across schools. The district will keep a 10‑day special‑area rotation, use a cohort model for third‑grade strings and fourth‑grade strings/band, and permit one 45‑minute weekly chorus pull‑out for fourth grade and one for fifth grade per school (the pull‑outs must occur at the same time each week). All class rosters and schedules for band, strings and orchestra will be entered into eSchool, TAC and HAC to support consistent scheduling and, staff said, to identify instrument‑purchase needs earlier.

Bauchner told the board the changes were driven by resources and by the need to remain compliant with state gifted‑and‑talented regulations. Board members asked about family notification and reassessment timing; Bauchner said placement letters would be available in late May and reassessments can be scheduled during the summer.

These program changes were presented for board review; no formal votes were taken at the May 7 meeting.