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Parents push back as Ridgefield board weighs Character Strong and elementary schedule changes
Summary
Parents and some teachers pressed the Ridgefield School Board to pause elementary schedule changes that cut specials and recess; supporters of the Character Strong SEL curriculum urged adoption while the superintendent announced modest schedule adjustments and postponed a final adoption vote.
Dozens of Ridgefield parents and educators packed the public comment period Monday to oppose proposed elementary schedule changes and to press the board for clearer metrics before adopting a new social-emotional learning curriculum.
"I'm asking for you to pause, review the evidence, and invite parents, teachers to the table," Ridgefield parent Alex Pace told the board, citing new American Academy of Pediatrics guidance and research on the benefits of recess. Several parents detailed how art, music and physical education time would be reduced under district schedule plans and said those losses would harm students' engagement and health.
Supporters spoke as well. "Character Strong is a curriculum that was developed by teachers," teacher and parent Caitlyn Scott said, arguing SEL instruction strengthens executive functioning and belonging. District staff described a yearlong pilot of Character Strong across PreK–12, an IMC (instructional materials committee) review, and an OSPI-required bias screener; staff reported 205 certificated staff responded to a pilot survey and IMC recommended adoption.
Board members and administrators sought to reconcile competing claims. Superintendent Dr. Rodriguez said the district will not "steal time" from core reading, writing and math, and emphasized that the current proposal shifts one large weekly SEL lesson to a specialist model—rather than eliminating daily classroom strategies. After hearing public concerns, the superintendent announced two adjustments: restore five minutes of recess for grades K–4 (bringing K–4 back to 40 minutes per day) and add five-minute passing periods between specials to guarantee specialists a full 45-minute instructional block. She said those changes remove the previously planned additional 55 minutes per week of extra core instruction.
Several board members asked for clearer success measures and expressed interest in greater community review. "How are you going to know these changes are successful? What data are you using?" parent Jen Conklin asked. Board members urged parents to request access to the curriculum demo and to meet with building principals for more detail.
The specific board action on adopting the Character Strong Foundations curriculum (item 9B) had been postponed earlier in the meeting and is scheduled for a future board session to allow additional review and public input. The superintendent said community members may request demo access through district staff.
What happens next: the board left the curriculum vote for a future meeting and will monitor implementation metrics emphasized by OSPI (state assessment and attendance/behavior indicators) while the district implements the announced schedule adjustments.
