Anoka-Hennepin board split on social studies curriculum weeks before new school year
School district curriculum frustrations
Classes begin in two weeks for the state’s two largest school districts, but time is running out for the Anoka-Hennepin district to implement a new social studies curriculum. FOX 9’s Soyoung Kim explains.
ANOKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Anoka-Hennepin School Board remains at odds over how to roll out adoption of the state’s new social studies standards.
Proposals to purchase new materials for sixth graders is stalled after a 3-3 vote at Monday night’s school board meeting.
At odds over rollout
The backstory:
Minnesota’s academic standards are reviewed and revised on a 10-year cycle. In 2021, the Minnesota Department of Education released new standards for social studies. The updated curriculum is set to take effect by the 2026-27 school year.
The state says it is up to local districts to select instructional materials and how they will adopt the new curriculum.
What we know:
The school board voted Monday to not move forward with purchasing the latest, Northern Lights 3rd Edition textbook for Grade 6 Minnesota Studies. This latest edition of the textbook includes updates to meet the new social studies state standards.
There were many questions raised about why the purchase of the materials was tied to potentially updating district policy 604.4, known as the Respectful Learning Environment Policy.
The superintendent clarified during the meeting why administrators decided to add this piece to the agenda item on materials.
"The intention of including policy 604.4 in 6th grade curriculum materials is to consider evaluation of the policy so that ensures to provide further clarity to staff as they teach topics that are likely to lend themselves to controversy," said Greg Cole, Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent.
A district spokesperson further explained that the Anoka-Hennepin policy provides direction to teachers on how to navigate topics in the classroom that could have varied perspectives or viewpoints. The concept regarding the review of the policy would be to take a long-term, policy-oriented approach regarding curriculum matters instead of taking a step-by-step approach as new curriculum is reviewed and adopted.
New curriculum deadlock
What they're saying:
This is the latest deadlock school board members are in over how to adopt the new curriculum. However, time is running out for the Anoka-Hennepin School District to implement a new social studies curriculum with the new school year beginning in just a couple of weeks.
Parents, teachers, and community members voiced frustration Monday about the delay saying the district has had years to implement this.
"This board is failing our students and teachers by not approving a curriculum. And we cannot wait for perfection because if we did, we will never make progress," said a parent speaking at Monday’s school board meeting.
"From a time and efficiency standpoint, it would be better to have the new resources in place. We also have requirements placed on us in terms of what standards tell us what we need to teach," said John Wolhaupter, president of the Anoka-Hennepin teachers union. "Part of this timing issue is really honoring the time and effort of our professional educators who want what’s best for our students."
State standards concerns
The other side:
Some school board members say they have concerns over updates to state standards including the addition of ethnic studies and would like to discuss further before approving or piloting new materials. Some members also raised questions about how issues around guidance would be resolved.
"I’m going to keep going back to the strand, the ethnic studies strand that was the major change to this curriculum," said Zach Arco, Anoka-Hennepin School Board member. "I want special consideration for strand 5, which is why I think we need some kind of policy update."
"Having this board’s agreement on how to treat these standards would be huge and it is achievable," said Matt Audette, Anoka-Hennepin School Board member.
What's next:
The new school year begins for several grades the day after Labor Day with the district welcoming back all students on Sept. 9.
The teacher’s union says educators are unsure what social studies materials they will still need to supplement or implement this fall.
The Source: FOX 9's Soyoung Kim reported on this story.