Curriculum – policy 601

Curriculum… this is a big topic and I’m just beginning to understand it! Our district has the Department of Teaching and Learning, currently led by Michelle Krell (/https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning). Owatonna school district education policies are found here: https://www.isd761.org/our-district/school-board/policies , specifically policy 601: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1614284439/owatonnak12mnus/bc19ra9w3iwfbvlbdbr1/601_1.pdf . See also policies 603, 604, and 606.

Basically, as I understand it today, academic standards are written by the Minnesota Department of Education and then approved by the MN State Legislature. Standards are updated and revised every 10 years. School districts are allowed to choose curriculum that teaches students what they need to know to meet these standards. Five areas of standards are outlined by The World’s Best Workforce (https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/wbwf/). The district uses tools such as Ed Reports (edreports.org) and What Works Clearinghouse (ed.gov), among others, to evaluate various curriculum options which aids in choosing what the district feels is best for our students. Owatonna has the District Curriculum Advisory Committee (DCAC) which includes 2 school board members (Mark Sebring and Tim Jensen), plus 4 community members, plus 9 teachers, plus 9 district administrators (https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning/dcac). This committee works on data analysis, reviews “vision cards” from the schools and discusses the strategic direction of the district. They will approve new courses, such as the fire fighter courses offered next year. As academic standards change, as they have recently for science, the curriculum is adjusted to reflect the new standards. Student assessment of learning is completed by testing, such as the MCA tests (/https://www.isd761.org/district-services/teaching-learning/assessments).

The District Staff Development Committee is responsible for ensuring teachers know how to teach the curriculum they are given. I’ve been told that the curriculum “is full”, and that “it doesn’t leave much room for teachers to include any supplemental material.” However, any supplemental material that teachers desire to add to the curriculum, should follow the guidelines given by the administration. As a parent and a school board member, I would like to see these guidelines defined and written so that parents feel aware and confident in knowing what is or isn’t being said in our schools. I would like to be proactive in setting boundaries, rather than reactive and acting only after a concern is identified.

Just recently, one of my sons informed me that one of his elementary school teachers a few years ago had told the class that they could be anything they wanted to be and referred to the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. Whether or not you agree or disagree with the teacher’s liberty of telling the children this, we need to have clear guidelines for these topics that are common in our world today, these are topics that fall outside of our basic literacy, math and science education. Thereby deciding which topics and/or opinions can be discussed in classrooms. While our teachers have basic guidelines for what they are teaching with the curriculum, understandably administration cannot know everything that is being said in the classroom. Our teachers, principals, and the superintendent need to know from parents if you are concerned about something at school. If you have questions or comments, please bring them to the school board meeting’s public forum.

Social Emotional Learning has become the norm in many public schools today, including Owatonna. What is it? How does each school define it? If we consider any of the 5000 students that come to Owatonna schools each day, what about the children who are experiencing abuse or going through a difficult situation at home (illness or death of a family member, parents’ divorce, etc)? How many of our students have complicated socioeconomic circumstances? These children at any age are going to struggle more at school. What if they aren’t being taught the coping and self-regulation skills at home, or getting the love and guidance and discipline they need from their parents or caregivers? Do we expect the school to do this? Should they do this and what happens if they don’t? Social Emotional Learning, in essence, can benefit children that need help with coping and self-regulation, therefore allowing them to learn more at the end of the day. In theory, this is how SEL works. In reality, SEL is vague and could be very different from one school or district to another. Do we want our schools to incorporate SEL, and for whom? How do our teachers feel about this?

These situations noted above ask the question, what are our expectations for public school? We need to decide how much of our students’ day should be utilized for academics vs social emotional learning vs other (counseling, dental care, vision screening, and the many other mandatory requirements outside of academics). We need to determine if all students need SEL, or just those that are struggling. What percentage of our students are struggling? We need to determine if and what part of the curriculum devoted to SEL is required by MN State standards and what is only our district’s choice. Who makes these decisions? How do we approach these topics? Lots of questions, lots of learning and understanding is needed. Please take this journey with me for our children. The school board needs to hear from you so we know what you are most concerned about.

Check out the upcoming FAIR event in Owatonna: https://openowatonna.org/special-event

MN Dept of Education virtual listening session: https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aV7skfotrcI49Iq

Prager U interview, “We need an educational revolution.” : https://www.prageru.com/video/we-need-an-educational-revolution-in-america-with-jill-simonian?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6541993

Lastly, just for fun, this is what I’m making for Easter Sunday dinner with my family: https://www.allthingsmamma.com/cheesy-potato-casserole-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-26627 as we celebrate our risen King, the one and only Jesus. God bless you and your family this year.