District outlines multi‑year equitable grading rollout, humanities revisions and new financial literacy course

District curriculum directors presented a broad end‑of‑year report on June 4 covering humanities, STEAM, writing instruction alignment and a proposed high‑school financial literacy course.

The presentation described a multi‑year plan to implement equitable grading practices across grades 7–12; phase 0 (this year) included steering‑committee pilots and planning, with phase 1 slated to expand training and small pilots next year. Directors said the aim is to align performance‑based learning and the district’s portrait of a graduate into assessments and report‑card language over several years.

Humanities staff summarized a K–6 audit aligned to the science of reading and work at 5–6 to fill curriculum gaps. The board was asked to approve purchase of two instructional units: a fifth‑grade unit built around Esperanza Rising and a sixth‑grade poetry unit to provide tiered extensions and support RTI instruction.

In STEAM, K–4 science work is being rewritten to reflect three‑dimensional assessment approaches and performance tasks; 7–12 math work emphasized building thinking classrooms and collaborative problem solving. CTE programs (building trades and auto tech) incorporated explicit career‑management and interview preparation in unit plans. Music faculty are developing creation standards and an individual arts assessment pathway.

The high‑school financial literacy course was advanced for future approval and aligned to recently released New York State financial education outcomes for grades 5–8 and 9–12. Board members signaled support for the multi‑year approach and asked for further implementation details at the approval meeting.