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Board reviews PE and health adoptions, new electives and a districtwide AI pilot for classrooms
Summary
The board heard curriculum-advisory recommendations: PE and health adoptions (gaga pits, Kinball/Omnican equipment, Speed Stacks, Spark and HealthSmart curricula, a "ref rep" course) and K—2 computer-science proposals including Skillstruck, a Project Lead The Way pilot, new dual-credit offerings with Indiana State University and a district pilot of SchoolAI.
District curriculum staff presented several program reviews and course recommendations covering physical education, health and computer science.
For elementary PE, staff recommended equipment purchases including portable gaga pits (nine schools), Omnican/kinball sets and Speed Stacks to support active, standards-aligned instruction. The committee recommended Spark for middle-school PE and HealthSmart for middle and high school health instruction. At the high-school level staff proposed a "ref rep" course that would allow students to earn PE credit while training to be certified referees for up to three sports.
On computer science, staff recommended Skillstruck for K—1 and 7—12 pathways, piloting Project Lead The Way's computer-science foundation course for grades 7—2, and holding the computing foundations graduation requirement in eighth grade. Staff noted 10 new dual-credit courses in partnership with Indiana State University and said dual-credit offerings would be free to students.
The computer-science review also included a recommendation to pilot SchoolAI districtwide next year to support personalized instruction and teacher workflow; staff said pilots were free and that the vendors were invested in successful adoption. Board members asked about digital citizenship, AI curriculum details and vendor involvement in pilots; staff said digital literacy is embedded and that pilots are typically vendor-supported at no cost.
Board members raised questions about adaptive PE equipment for students with special needs, the logistics of combining dual-language Spanish language arts and English language arts into one bilingual elective, and plans for fourth-grade swimming and Operation Water Safety; staff said adaptive equipment is purchased when needed, the bilingual model would be an option rather than a wholesale change, and the district plans swimming exploration for fourth graders using high-school pools in the coming year.
