Upper St. Clair board hears wide-ranging spring curriculum recommendations and several pilot proposals

District curriculum leaders presented an extensive slate of spring recommendations on Jan. 1, 2026, asking the board to approve some adoptions, start pilots and authorize summer studies to refine materials and professional development.

Leaders described the district’s multi-stage curriculum review process (preliminary panel, final panel and community curriculum input committee) and explained which items were for information versus board approval. The school counseling team proposed expanding the Maya learning career platform beyond the high‑school pilot and piloting the platform at Fort Couch for 7th–8th graders to vertically align career education from grade 7 through 12.

English and ELA teams recommended an AP English Literature supplemental resource to support updated multiple‑choice and essay practice for juniors and seniors, and a middle‑school study of digital resources to prepare students for online PSSA testing. The middle‑school ELA team recommended adopting the novel Fish in a Tree for fifth grade following two successful pilots and favorable feedback.

In math, district teachers reported strong MAP gains in the EXL pilot and recommended continuing the pilot another year to gather additional MAP and PSSA evidence before district-wide adoption. Board members pressed on how the program serves mid‑range students, time‑on‑task, and implications for IEPs; teachers said decisions about IEP use would remain individualized.

High‑school recommendations included adopting the revised IB Computer Science curriculum (which adds programming with Java and more technical skills) and continuing AP computer science courses; administrators said the IB course runs every other year with variable enrollment and that counseling will continue to guide students between AP and IB options.

Other department recommendations and studies: a formal program review of the high‑school choral program with a report due spring 2027; adoption of the Experience Chemistry textbook for 10th‑grade chemistry to align with Pennsylvania’s NGSS‑based standards; a civic‑engagement study in social studies with student capstones and field trips; and special‑education pilots (Math 180 for grades 5–6 as primary, grades 7–8 as supplemental, and Spire as a tier‑3 reading intervention for older elementary/middle students).

District leaders also proposed a summer evaluation of AI tutoring tools (Notebook LM, Brisk AI and others) to inform fall professional development and cautioned that tools should support, not replace, instruction. World‑language leaders proposed textbook updates for Japanese and a study to clarify an elementary Spanish program model and staffing needs to build long‑term proficiency pathways.

The board received the package and asked clarifying questions; many of the recommendations were framed as pilot programs or studies that will return with data before final adoption. Several items were noted as "for information" in the packet while others will return for board action after summer study and data collection.