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Curriculum committee outlines wellness PE, climate surveys and new middle‑school reading measure
Summary
The district’s curriculum committee reported plans to shift CHS physical education and health to semester-based integrated wellness courses, to continue the Safe School Climate Survey with parental opt-out, and to pilot Acadience as the middle-school universal reading screener.
The Cheshire Board of Education received a Jan. 16 curriculum committee report that outlined several planned instructional changes and assessments across the district.
Miss Cullinan, who presented the committee summary, said Cheshire High School will move from traditional separate health and PE classes to semester-based integrated wellness courses focused on resilience, healthy lifestyles and social connection. Each wellness course will be half-credit and run on a semester schedule.
The committee also reviewed the Safe School Climate Survey, which the district administers biennially to students, staff and parents. The questions have not changed since 2018; the district will notify parents, provide a PDF preview of the student instrument and offer an opt‑out for families who choose not to have their children participate.
For middle-school universal screening, the curriculum committee recommended moving toward Acadience reading for grades 7 and 8. Officials said Acadience includes multiple passage types (science, social studies and prose), aligning better with middle-school reading demands. Dodd Middle School will pilot the instrument.
Dr. Gadd provided an update on the Cheshire High master schedule: staff are vetting a five-session day with 68-minute blocks on an eight-day cycle. The committee also reviewed annual out‑of‑state trips to Nature’s Classroom for elementary schools and logistics for those field trips in May.
Board members asked about whether the board reviews survey questions; administrators said the curriculum committee reviews questions and the full board has the opportunity to review them before administration in March.
