An ongoing discussion about the Wit and Wisdom curriculum continued at the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 Board of Education workshop Tuesday evening, and Superintendent Risha VanderWey said teachers are avoiding covering “controversial” curriculum.

Teachers have been directed to avoid teaching controversial material – an effort VanderWey said has taken “a lot of time and effort.”

In previous meetings, board members tied the Wit and Wisdom curriculum to 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.

Chad Colby, communications director for Great Minds — the publisher of Wit and Wisdom – contacted The Journal in an email and said Wit and Wisdom was not about critical race theory.

“Wit & Wisdom is grounded in well-known, mainstream, age-appropriate, award-winning children’s books, written by respected authors, and published by leading companies such as Doubleday, Scholastic and National Geographic,” he wrote. “Unlike many content-anemic approaches that teach basic reading skills but don’t build knowledge, our materials help motivate all students to achieve high academic standards and meet their full potential.”

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.

In more recent board meetings, critical race theory hasn’t explicitly been referred to. Conversation has centered more around Wit and Wisdom’s effectiveness in meeting educational standards.

At the board’s October meeting, VanderWey recommended talking to the Colorado Department of Education before eliminating the curriculum at the elementary level – an action item on that agenda proposed by board member Tammy Hooten.

Hooten will surrender her position on the school board to challenger Ed Rice. Rice garnered more votes — 2,222 to her 1,302 — for the only uncontested position on the board in this year’s election.

VanderWey expressed concern that because the district is on a Continuous Improvement Plan, it would need state permission before proceeding with the curriculum’s removal.

CDE representatives told The Journal that the district did not need permission to change its curriculum if it was “scientific or evidence-based.”

At Tuesday’s work session, VanderWey didn’t reference a conversation with CDE, but said the decision to remove curriculum was under “local control” but changing it midyear was “highly unrecommended.”

Jim Parr, executive director of Academic Student Services, is evaluating alternative English Language Arts curricula.

An online alternative is available at the high school and middle schools, but not at the elementaries, VanderWey said.

“We have talked about this since August, and frankly, I’m tired of it,” board member Sherri Wright said. “And so it’s time to move forward.”

She said she wants the board to make a decision on new curriculum by January, to be implemented at the beginning of next school year.

Changing curriculum midyear is “ludicrous,” she said, and hard on kids and students.

Board member Cody Wells wanted to see whether Wit and Wisdom was “salvageable.” He said it’s expensive, and it could be used with a new curriculum.

“It’s a good secondary curriculum if we can kind of fix some of the problems that need addressed,” he said.

He suggested talking to community members and teachers to see whether they would support keeping the curriculum in some capacity, with alterations.

Hooten said the curriculum should be evaluated separately at the elementary and middle school levels, and that while it has positives and negatives, she prefers to do away with it after auditing the curriculum and selecting a replacement.

Assistant Superintendent Lis Richard said the district’s lessons on phonics and teaching reading are not on the CDE list of approved curriculum. CDE does a full-panel, complete audit on curriculum, and the district would have an easier time following state recommendations rather than conducting its own audit, she said.

She said the district needs to streamline its lessons, and she is particularly concerned about reading instruction at the levels of kindergarten through third grade.

She said the district lacks a reading program that meets all state standards, as well as an intervention program for those that are struggling with learning.

Richard said the district has under-performing students, and that to address this, the district needs to implement one cohesive curriculum. Currently, reading curriculum is composed of different parts. For instance, Wit and Wisdom is a supplemental curriculum, and Richard said it only teaches literacy.

“We have great teachers with great hearts, and all of them are doing the very best they can with the tools they have but we as a district – and you as a board – are responsible to put the right tools and the best tools in their hands.”

Board member Sheri Noyes said the curriculum, which was approved in 2019, did not come before the board to be voted on. She speculated that it was not brought before the board because of a low cost, but Richard said this wasn’t the case.

Noyes requested future curricula be brought before the board before adoption.

Chad Colby, communications director for Great Minds — the publisher of Wit and Wisdom – contacted The Journal in an email and said Wit and Wisdom was not about critical race theory.

“Wit & Wisdom is grounded in well-known, mainstream, age-appropriate, award-winning children’s books, written by respected authors, and published by leading companies such as Doubleday, Scholastic and National Geographic,” he wrote. “Unlike many content-anemic approaches that teach basic reading skills but don’t build knowledge, our materials help motivate all students to achieve high academic standards and meet their full potential.”