New Haven Unified middle-school teachers outline curricula, dual-language and independent-study options

New Haven Unified teachers and principals presented an overview of middle-school programs to families, highlighting curriculum alignment, student supports and extracurricular pipelines into James Logan High School.

Eileen, an eighth-grade English teacher at Itlion Veracruz Middle School, said the ELA program pairs writer’s workshop and readers apprenticeship with group presentations to build both literacy and public-speaking confidence: “On top of becoming more better at reading and writing, we hope students are also learning social skills and also confidence through public speaking,” she said.

The district has adopted the Teacher’s Curriculum Institute (TCI) for sixth through eighth grade history, Alyssa Escobedo, a seventh-grade core teacher at Itlion Veracruz, said, adding that the materials align with California’s standards and emphasize inquiry and perspective-taking so students “see people with power, people without power, marginalized groups” in context.

Math department head Colleen Williams…