Montgomery Township board declines K–4 writing curriculum approval after members ask for more data

The Montgomery Township Board of Education voted against approving agenda item 2.6 — which included K–4 writing revisions and new courses such as AP Seminar — after several members said they needed more data and clearer evidence of impact.

Joanne Borland, the district’s director of curriculum, told the board that teachers revised the K–4 literacy materials over the summer and that planned professional development is scheduled for September. “We have revised to align with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards,” Borland said, adding that phonics and reading units had already been revised in prior years and that teachers worked with supervisors to prepare the revisions.

Board members who opposed the motion said they wanted more formative measures and longitudinal evidence showing student growth before approving the changes. One member said they had previously requested benchmark and growth-model data and had not yet received it. Doctor Wagner explicitly recorded a…