The Examiner U-46 News FeedCurriculum proposals approved by U-46 board By Seth Hancock
The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved, three curriculum items at its June 20 meeting.
Included was the creation of an African American studies course for Elgin, South Elgin and Streamwood high schools for the 2022-2023 school year. There was not enough interest for the course at Bartlett or Larkin high schools, according to a June 6 memo when the item was presented to the board.
The proposal includes resources from Follett which will be funded through federal Title II funds ($16,867) with an additional $13,048 from the education fund.
The proposal states the course was created in response to a resolution for a so-called “Call to Action for Equity” approved by the board in 2020 which stated “providing every student with equitable access to high quality and culturally relevant instruction, curriculum, educational resources, and supports needed to be successful.”
An Advanced Placement Spanish literature resource was approved costing $77,270 (education fund) with resources from Wayside Publishing. The proposal stated the previously approved resources are being discontinued while this approval provides “new physical and digital resources.”
Also approved was an integrated math curriculum proposal for Bartlett High School. There is no cost with resources already in the district.
This curriculum approves two new academy honors courses for Bartlett’s Magnet Academy, integrated math 2 and 3. It also will “twilight the existing courses at the Bartlett Magnet Academy, including Academy Honors Integrated Math 1, Academy Honors Integrated Math 2, and Academy Honors Trigonometry,” the proposal states.
This is part of the transition to educational pathways at the district’s high schools.
“Part of the revision process included implementing changes in the district-wide Magnet Academy application process,” the proposal states. “The updated application process implemented a lottery system and eliminated prerequisite courses for Magnet Academies. Without a prerequisite course, the students entering Bartlett’s Magnet Academy may not have completed an accelerated math sequence.”
The proposal added: “The current entry-level mathematics course at Bartlett’s Academy assumes that students are accelerated in mathematics and have already completed Algebra 1. With the change in the admission requirements, students only need to have completed 8th-grade mathematics. The Academy curriculum and course sequence needed to be revised to incorporate those Algebra 1 standards and align with students’ math trajectory.”
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