Board reviews STEM Academy enrollment changes, Quaver music curriculum and a first-read therapy-dog policy
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Summary
Trustees discussed opening ninth-grade spots at the STEM Academy, a three-year digital Quaver music curriculum for K-4, and a first reading of a therapy-dog policy intended to restore in-school animal-assisted supports.
The board discussed several education items in the Jan. 27 work session, including proposed STEM Academy handbook revisions, a recommended digital music curriculum for elementary grades and a first reading of a therapy-dog policy.
Board members said the STEM Academy handbook revision would permit open ninth-grade enrollment into available slots without removing currently enrolled students. Director Miller had proposed the language to encourage students from nonpublic schools to return to the district, staff said.
District staff described Quaver, a digital elementary music curriculum the district is considering for kindergarten through fourth grade. The presentation said Quaver replaces a 1995 textbook with a three-year subscription that includes lesson plans, multimodal accessibility, cultural responsiveness, grade-book integration and compatibility with Chrome, Mac, Windows and iOS devices. Staff said the curriculum can be adapted for special education students and includes career-readiness elements; funding for the subscription is available in the curriculum budget, staff said. Board members asked about the availability and location of instruments; staff said many instruments are kept with music teachers following building relocations and that inventory details could be provided.
The board also took a first read of a therapy-dog policy. Staff said McNichols Plaza previously hosted a therapy dog and that the new policy, developed with the district legal team and an outside group (identified in the transcript as Kings Pride), would address insurance, allergy notification and operational protections so therapy animals could safely be used for social-emotional supports. Staff distinguished therapy dogs from service dogs and said a separate service-dog policy exists.
The items were presented for board consideration; Quaver and the STEM handbook revision were on consent or non-consent agendas for approval at an upcoming meeting, and the therapy-dog policy is moving through a first-reading review.