Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum Book Selection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Bend policy committee seeks clearer rules for book‑club selections and teacher justification
Summary
Policy committee members agreed to tighten the book‑club selection process, clarify grade bands and when titles must go from the curriculum committee to the full board, and ask teachers to supply a written statement explaining instructional use of contested titles.
The West Bend School District Policy Committee on Aug. 19 discussed changes to how book‑club and classroom texts are reviewed, aiming to clarify ambiguous rubric language and reduce repeated board reviews.
Dr. Wimmer, speaking as a presenter for the curriculum committee, said the district currently uses broad buckets for review — "So K‑5, we have none. 6‑8, we have limited. And 9‑12, we have some." He told the committee the existing rubric was intended to provide transparency and guidance to parents and teachers rather than to produce a single automated approval score.
Committee members said the rubric’s terms such as "some" and "limited" are nebulous in practice. Several members suggested refining grade bands — for example splitting 9‑12 into 9‑10 and 11‑12 — and explicitly recognizing accelerated or honors courses as a separate consideration so materials used in AP or honors curricula are not excluded prematurely.
Members also discussed when a title should escalate from the curriculum committee to the full board. The committee coalesced around a two‑step approach: teachers may place books on book‑club lists and provide required documentation, and only those titles the curriculum committee cannot clearly categorize under the rubric would be brought to the full board for review.
Several committee members said they wanted more context from teachers when a title is questioned. The committee recommended that when a book is routed for fuller review, the teacher provide a written justification explaining how the text will be used in class, what themes or standards it addresses, and how it contributes to instruction. The group proposed using a previously contested title, The Color Purple, as a template to refine the required teacher submission and gauge whether the new guidance is sufficient.
On parental notification and consent, committee members restated the district’s existing practice that an unanswered parental permission request defaults to denial. The committee discussed expanding the number of "none"‑rated titles on book‑club lists to increase choice for families in older grades while retaining a case‑by‑case review for disputed texts.
The committee asked curriculum staff to draft clearer guidance for teachers and to return the revised rubric and a sample teacher justification for the board to review. No formal vote was recorded at the meeting.
