Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum Changes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears curriculum updates: I‑Ready classroom to expand to grade 6; new elective offerings and student‑led investment club
Summary
Curriculum leaders presented program updates including a recommendation to bring I‑Ready Classroom work into grade 6, new electives (physics of sports, engineering for resilience), a full‑year accelerated anatomy course, and a student‑initiated finance/investing club to manage real funds with district oversight partners.
District curriculum staff reported several program changes the board had reviewed or planned for next year: expansion of the I‑Ready classroom program into sixth grade, new electives and course requirement changes at the high school, and a student‑led finance/investing club that will operate with real funds under district safeguards.
Supervisors told the board that moving I‑Ready classroom implementation into grade 6 is intended to improve continuity from K–5 and to address a commonly observed dip in performance in the middle‑school transition. Staff cited positive K–5 results this year and argued that extending the program into grade 6 will improve instructional consistency and may help NJSLA performance.
Curriculum staff summarized high‑school course changes already adopted in December (biology in 9th, chemistry in 10th, and requirements that students take at least one unit of physics and one unit of environmental science before graduation). They also said two half‑year anatomy electives were combined into a single full‑year accelerated anatomy and physiology course and that accelerated courses were reduced from seven to six periods to help student scheduling.
A student‑initiated finance/investing club described in the update will operate with real funds raised through fundraising; the district will partner with the Haddonfield Educational Trust (HET) as a conduit for funds and oversight. Curriculum leaders said the initiative was student driven and intended to provide real‑world experience in investing and finance.
Board members asked questions about instructional delivery, technology use (iReady practice vs. whole‑group I‑Ready classroom instruction), and program comparisons; curriculum staff clarified that I‑Ready classroom is the whole‑group and small‑group instructional model and that I‑Ready online practice is distinct.
No new policy votes were taken during this segment; staff said changes fit within previously discussed curriculum committee recommendations and budget allocations.
