Did You Get Chosen For the Supplemental Curriculum Task Force?

Selections for the WCSD Supplemental Curriculum Task Force have been made and all applicants were notified the week of September 21, 2021. Did you make it on the Superintendent’s Supplemental Task Force Curriculum committee? We have the inside scoop on how selections were made and what kind of qualifications were most important to the selection committee.

A Quick Review of Social Justice in WCSD

If we rewind a few months, you may recall when the district pushed out a social justice (CRT) curriculum for the Board of Trustees to review. It was the Benchmark Advanced supplemental curriculum that could be incorporated into the ELA curriculum for K-5th graders. Gratefully, cooler heads prevailed and the Board of Trustees voted this divisive curriculum down. Instead, it was decided by Superintendent McNeill that a special Task Force would be put together to help craft/approve a social justice supplemental curriculum that can be used during the daily 1.5 hour ELA portion of the day.

How Were Applicants Selected?

169 people applied for the task force. These applicants were then sent into a blind selection process, meaning the names were blacked out and only the applicants answers to the questions were visible. The selection committee consisted of a community member, three administrators, two teachers, and a representative from the Equity and Diversity task force. The selection committee community member, Valerie Fiannaca, was kind enough to share some of her experience with BBME:

“There were only two questions used on the rubric for the candidates, each an essay question, which could be answered with up to 250 characters. I felt that the second question (asking about experience writing curricula) was used to exclude anyone except educators from the process. The rubric for selecting top candidates required that you have experience in writing curriculum. Therefore, we had to exclude nuclear scientists, lawyers, doctors, nurse practitioners, psychologists, a retired Army colonel, computer programmers, etc…..you get my drift, many particularly talented people. I feel this is a flaw in the system. Consequently, I am fairly certain that of the 169 people who applied, all chosen will be educators.”

Who Will Make Up The Task Force?

The Task Force is made up of 18 members (which is HUGE):

5 Elementary School parents/guardians (one from each regular Trustee district)

4 community members,

2 elementary teachers,

1 middle school teacher,

1 high school teacher,

1 elementary school principal,

2 students,

1 Curriculum & Instruction Department representative

1 Equity & Diversity Department representative.

While the Supplemental Curriculum Task Force meetings will not be public, we can still play a major role in ensuring divisive social justice (CRT) curriculum does not make it into our children’s classrooms. BBME will continue to keep you informed on Board of Trustee agenda items that will feature this discussion.