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District committee recommends Great Body Shop, Human Kinetics for updated health curriculum
Summary
A district curriculum committee and school teachers recommended adopting Great Body Shop for K–8 and Human Kinetics for high school; the initial price estimate for a seven-year adoption is about $60,000. Committee members stressed an accessible parental opt-out process and more teacher supports.
Megan King, a middle-school health teacher, told the Banks SD 13 board the district’s current health materials are out of date and the district team recommends adopting state-approved materials "The Great Body Shop" for elementary and middle grades and "Human Kinetics" for high school. King said teachers have been supplementing curricula for years and that the committee’s recommendation would bring a consistent set of resources to classrooms.
The recommendation follows review by a school-based team and a community curriculum advisory committee that evaluated options against Oregon’s updated health standards. The board was told the recommended, districtwide adoption would cost about $60,000 for a seven-year license and would include digital teacher resources; elementary student access to Great Body Shop takes the form of take-home magazines rather than an online student platform.
The community committee chair emphasized the group prioritized mental-health instruction, interpersonal communication, problem solving, nutrition and media-literacy skills when choosing materials, and urged the board to adopt a clear, accessible opt-out policy for parents. As one committee member put it, "First thing was mental health" and the group stressed that some topics could be controversial and therefore require transparent communication with families.
Teachers and committee members raised practical concerns about classroom time and implementation. Megan King noted many classrooms have relied on supplemental internet resources to meet newer mandates and asked the board to provide teacher guides and supplemental activities so teachers would not have to create materials from scratch.
The recommendation presented at the work session was framed as the committee’s formal recommendation to the superintendent; the board did not take a final adoption vote during the work session. The next procedural step is a formal recommendation or adoption agenda item on a regular board meeting for board action and public notice.
