Students in Cherry Hill Public Schools will be taught a revised curriculum starting next year as the Board of Education approved a series of changes at last week’s meeting.
The subjects approved for changes were English/language arts for kindergarten through 12th grade and humanities for kindergarten through 11th grade.
The Board of Education also approved a pair of texts to supplement the curriculum. The Power of Myth will be used at the high school level while Strategies for Writers will be used for kindergarten through fifth grade.
Director of Curriculum Joe Meloche said the curriculum isn’t new, but it is instead a five-year update on the previous curriculum. Most of the revisions were made to align the curriculum with New Jersey’s Common Core standards, but updates in curriculum are not uncommon.
“Curricular revision is an ongoing and fluid process that is undertaken with a scheduled cycle,” Meloche said.
Meloche said there are a number of differences the revised curriculum has over the old one. Aside from the alignment with state standards, he said the new curriculum will be better in preparing students for college and provides a more thorough look at each individual student’s work and progress.
The curriculum was approved after numerous meetings by the curriculum and instruction subcommittee. Meloche said presentations are made and discussions take place regarding possible changes.
Prior to changes going before the board of education’s committee, a committee of staff members from all grade levels formulates a plan going forward.
“The process includes an audit of the existing curriculum, an examination of any new and updated standards, a review of available materials, and the creation of the updated curriculum documents,” Meloche said.
The input within the staff and board subcommittees was extremely valuable in the process.
“Their questions are probing and insightful, consistently focused on the impact for student achievement,” Meloche said.
In other news:
• The school district announced open enrollment will take place from Feb. 17 to Feb. 28. Fifth-grade students who are interested in attending Rosa International Middle School can attend an information night. Students of Barton, Johnson, Kilmer, Kingston, Knight and Paine elementary schools are asked to attend the Feb. 5 information night. Students from Cooper, Harte, Mann, Sharp, Stockton and Woodcrest will attend the Feb. 6 information session. Both events will begin at 7 p.m. More information regarding open enrollment can be found on the school district’s website.
• Cherry Hill Public School’s recent snow day will not have an effect on high school and middle school graduations. The snow day on Jan. 22 will be made up on June 18. However, high school graduation will still be on June 17 and graduates will not have to attend school the following day. In addition, middle school graduations will still take place on June 16.
The next board of education meeting will be a work session on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Malberg board room. The next action meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
