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Combs board approves eight supplemental novels; members flag The Giver for maturity
Summary
The governing board approved eight supplemental novels for middle‑school use and reviewed a proposed rubric for novel requests; several board members said The Giver contains mature themes and favored keeping it as a choice/individual read rather than whole‑class material.
Dr. Fountain (speaker 7) presented a proposed supplemental-novel request form and ran eight middle‑school titles through the process as examples. The form includes a synopsis, text complexity, grade-band recommendation and flags for potentially mature content, with citations to independent resources such as the American Library Association.
Board members praised the transparency of the form and discussed how titles could be designated for whole-class versus supplemental/choice usage. Several board members said they were comfortable approving the list as supplemental material but expressed concern about The Giver’s mature thematic elements. One board member suggested making The Giver a student-choice or individual read or moving it to high school for whole-class instruction; Dr. Fountain said the titles could be flagged on the master list for maturity or limited to student-choice usage.
On a motion by Committee member (speaker 5) and second by Committee member (speaker 4), the board approved the eight supplemental novels 4–0. Board members and staff agreed they could revisit placement decisions later if needed.
Why it matters: The board’s approval sets the district process for teachers to submit novels for review and clarifies that supplemental titles may be limited to choice or flagged for maturity, which affects classroom planning and parent expectations.
What’s next: Staff will add the approved titles to the master list with any maturity flags and provide guidance to teachers on whole-class versus supplemental use.
