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Parent urges district to "get priorities back in line," criticizes curriculum and reading outcomes
Summary
During the non-agenda public forum, a long-time Oshkosh parent criticized district curriculum changes — citing phonics, cursive, new math, and pandemic-era policies — and said the district faces low reading and math performance among many students.
At the Aug. 13 meeting's non-agenda public forum, Matt Took of Oshkosh told the board he has had children in the district for more than two decades and urged the district to reconsider recent curriculum changes.
"First one is the elimination of phonics, which has been a disaster for reading performance," Took said. He listed other concerns, including removal of cursive instruction, fewer spelling tests, and what he called difficulties parents face helping with "new math." Took also criticized curriculum choices he described as containing "vulgar material" and criticized pandemic-era policies. "Over half of the students are not meeting standards in reading or math," he said, and estimated that roughly 100 graduates in the class of 2025 lack basic reading or math skills, a figure he attributed to district academic trends.
Why this matters: public comment sessions give the board direct community feedback. Took called for the district to "get our priorities back in line" and asked leaders to slow and scrutinize curricular changes.
The board did not respond substantively in the public-forum segment beyond acknowledging the comment; staff and committee follow-ups on curriculum and student outcomes are addressed elsewhere in district meetings and reviews.
Ending: The comment was recorded as part of the public forum; the board continues routine review of curriculum, assessments and related policies in its committee work and listening sessions.
