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Montezuma-Cortez superintendent suggests getting state input before removing elementary curriculum

Montezuma-Cortez Board of Education members discuss Wit and Wisdom curriculum at the elementary school level.
Wit and Wisdom curriculum under review in RE-1

A vote to dissolve the current Wit and Wisdom curriculum from elementary school instruction was tabled at the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 Board of Education meeting Tuesday night.

The school board voted against the motion after Superintendent Risha VanderWey said it was likely necessary to obtain authorization from the Colorado Department of Education before rescinding curriculum because the district is on a Continuous Improvement plan.

“We can’t just pull things without double-checking with CDE because they have – with our Continuous Improvement plan – they have OK’d what we teach and what we instruct,” she said.

In previous meetings, board members found the Wit and Wisdom curriculum to contain elements of critical race theory – a hotly debated subject that has caused controversy in school board meetings across the country – and that has contributed to escalating tension in the RE-1 school district among sweeping staff shortages and other debates.

The board voted to pass an official document, titled “Resolution Opposing Principles of Critical Race Theory,” at its monthly meeting Sept. 21.

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In Cortez, opinions on the current curriculum range from vehement opposition to steady backing. Some believe that it is ineffective and/or teaches harmful division, others believe it to be effective in teaching history and reading, and still others insist that critical race theory isn’t present in current teachings at all, instead referring to it as a graduate-level theory not ingrained in grade school curriculum.

Nevertheless, critical race theory wasn’t explicitly referred to in Tuesday’s board meeting. Rather, conversation about Wit and Wisdom focused more on its effectiveness in meeting educational standards. However, when it was decided curriculum wouldn’t be immediately changing, Board President Sherri Wright asked “Are you going to be working with the teachers for the rest of the year to make sure that we’re not teaching something that will upset community?”

Executive Director of Academic Student Services Jim Parr said the district has put together and begun to encourage a list of supplemental materials, but that not all teachers are using them.

Board Member Tammy Hooten requested to add the vote on the curriculum’s removal to the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting.

She said Wit and Wisdom isn’t meeting standards, and that surveys completed by kindergarten through fifth grade teachers reflect a majority desire to do away with the lessons.

VanderWey suggested speaking with CDE to get approval for the curriculum’s removal first — otherwise, she said the district could be in a “dire spot.”

“To scrap something without something in place leaves our administrators and our teachers in a very tough place, especially since we’re under school improvement,” she said.

Hooten agreed to having VanderWey speak with CDE before further action was taken, saying she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the district.

CDE recognizes Wit and Wisdom as supplemental instruction, defined as “instruction that goes beyond that provided by the comprehensive core program because the core program does not provide enough instruction or practice in a key area to meet the needs of the students in a particular classroom or school.”

It was adopted in 2019, Parr said.

Results from the surveys in question were divided by grade level, Hooten said. In kindergarten, she said, six out of six teachers wished to eradicate the Wit and Wisdom curriculum. In first grade, four out of six voted to keep the curriculum. In second grade, there was no tally available – but there were comments like “negative aspects,” “very strong programs, very high expectations” and “struggling students will suffer.” In third grade, six out of seven teachers voted against the curriculum. In fourth grade, there was no tally available, but Hooten said there were “remarks of ‘no.’” In fifth grade, there were seven negative comments, she said.

Hooten said Parr shared the surveys with the board a couple of months ago.

“So basically we had 50% of the people answer, because we don’ know a couple of those answers. I go to the same adage – we can please 50% of the people 50% of the time,” board member Stacey Hall said.

There are currently 52 elementary school teachers, although not all are certified – some are long-term substitutes, said Executive Director of Human Resources Cyndi Eldredge. That total does not count Exceptional Student Services teachers, she said.

“I keep hearing that the teachers are doing so much work pulling stuff out and trying to make it work,” Board President Sherri Wright said.

She asked whether that was happening under board direction, or if it had been ongoing.

Parr said some teachers have supplemented lesson plans “to a small degree,” although it hadn’t been requested up until this point. VanderWey said supplementing happens with every curriculum.

“I would love to just scrap everything right now and find the perfect program — that’s not going to happen,” Wright said.

VanderWey said that Parr is ordering other curricula to evaluate what other options the district may have for teaching reading skills more effectively.

Wright expressed frustration, saying educational processes are slow and that some community members think the board isn’t taking action as a result.

“Just out of curiosity, so if we’re on this improvement plan, wouldn’t they (CDE) have looked at our curriculum and said ‘Why are you using this curriculum?” board member Sheri Noyes asked.

Noyes said she is concerned that CDE hasn’t intervened to more actively guide the district in improvement, rather than waiting to evaluate the district’s progress at the end of its five-year improvement period.

Assistant Superintendent Lis Richard said CDE expects the district to use curriculum outlined on its website. She said CDE would take action if the district was using unapproved curriculum.

VanderWey said that despite low test scores, the district has experienced “a huge lift” from previous numbers.

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VanderWey said it takes three to five years to improve schools. Currently, schools across the state are on a two-year accountability pause, and academics will not be evaluated, Richard said.

Parr said teachers would face some challenges in implementing a new curriculum midyear, and VanderWey said she had never executed a curriculum change midyear before.

“If we decide to change programs, then we need to make sure we have adequate time to do all the proper reviews and have teachers have information before school starts next year,” Wright said.

Richard said that there should be specific guidelines used while reviewing language arts curriculum.

Superintendent Risha VanderWey was unavailable for comment Thursday or Friday.

Communications representatives from the Colorado Department of Education have not responded to Journal requests for comment.