Following an article from Chalkbeat addressing its new elementary reading curriculum, Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 released a letter from Superintendent Eddie Ramirez on Saturday.
The letter responded to a report from Chalkbeat that called into question the district’s adherence to Colorado Academic Standards and was critical to the Bluebonnet reading curriculum’s inclusion of biblical stories like The Prodigal Son, the Creation story and biblical allegories in “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis.
In response, Ramirez’s letter said the district will remove or modify biblical and religious content to ensure that the curriculum is not a “vehicle for religious instruction.”
“Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 will edit the curriculum materials used in our schools so that biblical instruction or religious teaching is not part of our elementary academic instruction,” the letter said. “This does not diminish our responsibility to teach students about history, literature, cultures, civilizations, or other subjects in an academically appropriate manner when such content is required by the standards. Rather, it means that our instruction will remain focused on academic learning and the Colorado Academic Standards, not religious instruction.”
The Journal reached out to the Montezuma-Cortez school board members for comment. Board member Mike Lynch referred to his previous comments to Chalkbeat and told the Journal he would defer to his fellow board members for further statements.
The Journal asked school board members by email if Montezume-Cortez School District sought public feedback before adopting the new curriculum; how much input the board of education had in the decision; and on what merits the Bluebonnet curriculum was adopted.
School board members did not respond to requests for comment.
Ramirez also addressed the concerns about the curriculum from an instructional model that is based on the Houston Independent School District’s approach to “explicit instruction.”
“The purpose of this implementation is straightforward: to improve student achievement by providing our teachers with a coherent, standards-aligned, rigorous and highly structured instructional program,” Ramirez said.
The curriculum, though created outside of Colorado, is in line with the state academic standards, he added.
“The reading, mathematics and science curriculum resources being implemented by Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 have been carefully reviewed for alignment with the Colorado Academic Standards. Our review indicates approximately 95% alignment with the applicable Colorado standards,” he continued. “Where gaps have been identified, the district will make the necessary curriculum adjustments throughout the academic year.”
The letter also acknowledged the district’s history of low student performance, saying a change needed to be made to reverse this trend.
“We cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results. Our students deserve our urgency. They deserve highly effective instruction every day. They deserve access to rigorous curriculum and excellent teachers. They deserve consistent expectations from classroom to classroom and school to school,” Ramirez said. “Most importantly, they deserve our belief that they can achieve at high levels.
Ramirez closed by saying the district’s fundamental responsibility is to provide every student with a high-quality public education that prepares them for the future.
“Our students are capable of achieving at high levels. Our responsibility is to ensure that we provide them with the instruction, curriculum, support and opportunities necessary to make that achievement possible,” Ramirez said.
Board President Joshua Shumway said a special meeting of the board will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss Bluebonnet.
bduran@the-journal.com
