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Board approves monitoring reports; district to narrow middle‑school science scope and expand sheltered‑instruction for social studies
Summary
After receiving results‑monitoring reports, the board approved staff recommendations to adjust middle‑school science instruction and to continue social‑studies assessment work and sheltered‑instruction training.
Superintendent and academic staff presented the results‑monitoring reports for science and for civics/social studies.
On science, staff told the board that the existing approach — teaching multiple distinct content areas across grades six through eight — has stretched teacher preparation and left students with less depth. Dr. McQuade (school services) said the district will move to a model that focuses on one science area per grade and aligns eighth‑grade physical science more closely to high‑school biology expectations. “We are going through an adoption,” McQuade said, “and we are going to make sure that we're modeling our work after districts that are having more success than we are.”
On social studies, staff highlighted the district’s locally developed DBQ (document‑based question) assessments and a “pause and reflect” protocol for assessment development that reduces bias compared with some nationally normed tests. The district also reported beginning training in sheltered‑instruction observation protocol (SIOP) at the high‑school level and phasing that work into middle schools to help students with language access to content.
Board action: the board moved and approved the monitoring reports for science and for civics/social studies. Staff said they would involve middle‑school teachers in the adoption process and expect to implement the new science scope and sequence for the 2025–26 year.
