Committee approves literacy-focused 'Lab Biology Plus' to help students with scientific reading gaps

The RSU 11/MSAD 11 curriculum committee voted unanimously Feb. 3 to add a literacy-focused biology section, described by staff as "Lab Biology Plus," aimed at students who demonstrate persistent gaps in reading and scientific literacy.

Angela Hardy, the district’s director of curriculum, told the committee the section is modeled on recent curriculum developments in social studies and is intended to teach lab biology content while explicitly teaching vocabulary, data interpretation and evidence-based explanations. "We're going to intensely focus on literacy skills while achieving lab biology," Hardy said.

Placement would require a combination of standardized test results and teacher recommendation, staff said, and the class would include lab work so it counts toward the district's one-year lab science graduation requirement. The committee discussed how students who make adequate progress could transfer from the literacy-enriched section to on-grade-level biology midyear; staff said transfers would be reflected on transcripts and potentially require a different instructor depending on block scheduling.

Committee members asked about enrollment thresholds and how low enrollment sections would be organized; staff said the district could co-locate students within the same section and provide ed-tech support so there are at least two adults to support differentiated instruction. The curriculum office said it had analyzed workload and staffing and concluded the pilot section is feasible under projected enrollments.

A motion to accept the proposed science courses passed unanimously. The district will add the Lab Biology Plus section to the program of studies and monitor student progress and enrollment as implementation proceeds.