Middletown staff to bring ‘World Novel’ course proposal to full Board of Education
Summary
Teachers proposed renaming the 11th‑grade American Novel elective to World Novel to reduce overlap with a relaunched 10th‑grade American Studies course; the committee voiced consensus to present the proposal to the full board, and staff estimated about $750 in textbook costs covered by existing building funds.
Katie Wikander, a tenth‑ and eleventh‑grade honors English teacher at Middletown High School, and a colleague from the Office of Teaching and Learning presented a proposal to change the 11th‑grade elective called American Novel to World Novel.
Wikander said the change is intended to reduce overlap with a relaunched 10th‑grade American Studies program and to expand students’ exposure to global perspectives while keeping the same Connecticut grade‑level 11 ELA standards and assessment structure. "It's really just to expand the content in which my students are able to explore," Wikander said, noting the course would retain core literary analysis and argumentative writing objectives.
Presenters gave examples of candidate texts and units they would consider for a World Novel course: European Romanticism (Wuthering Heights), Middle Eastern literature (A Thousand Splendid Suns), African American voices (Beloved; Their Eyes Were Watching God), and Latinx/South American options (The House of the Spirits; Water for Chocolate). They said honors students would be expected to read whole texts and that the course would include multimodal and choice‑based assessments such as book‑talk presentations.
The presenters estimated additional textbook purchases at about $750, to be covered by Middletown High School’s operating/building budget lines; they said many suitable global texts are already available in the school’s book room and library. The presenters also discussed alignment with AP offerings and UConn Early College Experience (ECE) work and noted that ECE credit transfer and ECE partnerships require qualified teachers and separate university approvals.
Colleen Fitzpatrick, who introduced the presenters, asked whether the curriculum committee had concerns about bringing the proposal to the full Board of Education at its next meeting. Multiple committee members voiced support and asked that consensus be recorded in the minutes; one community member urged requesting a larger budget if needed. Fitzpatrick said she will bring the proposal to the board for consideration.
Next steps: presenters will proceed to the full Board of Education and the committee requested that any further materials (course outlines, projected enrollment, and firm text lists) be provided during the board presentation.
