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School committee approves Ashland Middle School schedule and curriculum changes for 2025-26
Summary
The Ashland School Committee on March 12 approved curriculum-driven schedule changes at Ashland Middle School for 2025-26, including separate sixth-grade reading and writing classes, a science-engineering sequence for seventh grade and an eighth-grade Spanish I alignment.
The Ashland School Committee on March 12 approved curriculum-driven schedule changes for Ashland Middle School for the 2025-26 school year to support expanded ELA, science-engineering and world-language sequences.
Administrators said the changes are curriculum decisions meant to improve alignment and instruction, and will allow scheduling staff to begin building next year's class lists and projecting class sizes. Specific changes include dividing sixth-grade English language arts into a separate sixth-grade reading-comprehension course and a sixth-grade grammar-and-writing course, developing a science-and-engineering sequence for seventh grade built around end-projects and backwards design, and offering an eighth-grade course aligned to high-school Spanish I for vertical alignment with the high school program.
Aaron (identified in the meeting as the presenter on the middle-school proposal) and other staff told the committee that teachers are still finalizing scope-and-sequence materials but that the proposed structure must be approved now so scheduling can proceed. The district said staff will continue summer curriculum work and provide follow-up summaries to the board on specific text choices and course outlines.
Board members across the committee praised the work, saying the changes address longstanding schedule constraints and create opportunities for interdisciplinary work, including "writing across the curriculum." Several members noted the schedule changes are designed to be flexible and to support unique learners without necessarily increasing headcount; district staff said the reorganization will reduce or reassign staff rather than create layoffs.
A motion to approve the Ashland Middle School curriculum changes as presented was made and seconded; the committee recorded affirmative vocal votes (Marcy: Aye; Tina: Aye; Mark: Aye; additional Aye recorded) and the motion passed.
Administrators and teachers plan further professional-development time, vertical-alignment work with high-school language teachers, and summer curriculum development. The district said it will provide the board with an update on scope-and-sequence decisions after upcoming PD sessions so the committee can review details before implementation.
