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District refines book-club review process; three secondary titles to go to full board
Summary
At the May 20 meeting West Bend staff outlined proposed updates to the district book-club review process, plans to solicit broader feedback, and specific reassignments of several titles. Three secondary-level titles were flagged to be forwarded to the full board for approval.
District curriculum staff presented a review of the West Bend School District book-club selection and permission process at the committee's May 20, 2025, meeting and recommended a series of clarifications, additional family and staff feedback, and process improvements.
Superintendent Jen Wimmer and Program Administrator Erin Faust said the district has piloted a book-club review process for a couple of years and received parent feedback indicating confusion over labels such as “NA” (not applicable) on permission slips and how that designation is applied. Staff proposed clearer threshold explanations on permission materials, tighter handling of restricted words (kept internal for vetting rather than published on permission slips), and making more accessible explanatory information on a refreshed district website so parents, teachers and students can better understand review decisions.
For Grade 7, teachers recommended reassigning three titles to different quarters to better align with standards: The War That Saved My Life to quarter 3 (historical fiction); New Kid to quarter 4 (narrative nonfiction); and My Family Divided made available for eighth-grade quarter 4 use. Staff said those moves do not remove the titles from the district’s inventory but relocate them within the instructional sequence. The committee heard that the Grade 7 list contains about 20 titles, 11 of which currently carry NA designations across the three review categories.
Staff also said three titles proposed for Grades 8, 9 and 10 exceed the committee’s approval authority—because of content thresholds such as graphic violence or sexual content—and therefore must be reviewed by the full school board. Staff offered to provide copies of those titles to board members and recommended scheduling full-board review in June or July so teachers could have clarity before quarter 1 instruction.
The committee agreed to seek further staff and family input and to bring clarified permission language and proposed website presentation back to the full board as appropriate. Staff emphasized that the committee executes the process established by the board and that some titles will require full-board consideration under the district’s established thresholds.
