CUSD Teachers feel Parents should know...

CUSD's "Teen Talk" - 7th and 8th grade Pilot was approved at the December 14, 2016 CUSD Board of Trustees meeting.

Board Audio at 148:21 (2 hours 28 Minutes and 21 seconds)

The following is an up-date that CUSD Staff provided to Trustees. Documentation provided to Trustees can be read in full at: January 24, 2018 CUSD BOT Meeting Agenda Item #35 FIRST READING BOARD POLICY 6146.1 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS - CA Healthy Youth Act

It is important to note- that there is no evidence that the Teen Talk 7th and 8th grade curriculum was ever read by the IRC (Instructional review Committee) prior to Trustees adopting this Pilot. The Agenda Item did not contain any materials for the Public or Trustees to review.

In the Up-date to Trustees in the Spring of 2017, Staff stated very clearly that "The Committee will discuss topics that may be too controversial and potentially not age appropriate for middle school students."

CUSD teachers were very troubled by the curriculum and did not initiate the Pilot. Staff is forcing the issue and will vote on the 7th and 8th grade curriculum at the March 14, 2018 CUSD Board meeting.

Below is a summary of what happened at CUSD February 22, 2018 meeting of all middle school Science teachers, organized and conducted by Joshua Hill, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, grades 6-12.

The format was that teachers were divided among 11 tables with 5-6 teachers per table. Each table was given a copy of the ORIGINAL Teen Talk curriculum and a three-page copy of "Teen Talk Curriculum Changes." (These changes reflect the objections to the curriculum voiced by CUSD middle school science teachers last year on February 28, 2017 when they first read the curriculum.

The meeting was organized so that each table was given only ONE PART of the curriculum to analyze. Teachers were instructed to compare their assigned part of the original curriculum to the changes suggested last year and either approve the changes--or revise them on the spot. How does CUSD expect Teachers to revise complex curriculum at a moment's notice? It is impossible to imagine that substantive, and necessary, revision occurred at this meeting given the format of the meeting.

Many teachers walked away from the meeting feeling that the purpose of this method of "revising" the Teen Talk curriculum was so the District could say, "All Middle School science teachers read and approved the changes" while not having to mention to Trustees or the Public that teachers were given a short time to analyze only ONE PART of the curriculum without ever discussing the entire curriculum. Imagine what problems they might have discovered if the teachers had received the REVISED curriculum first and then analyzed necessary changes.

The School Board meeting on March 14 is scheduled to approve the ORIGINAL Teen Talk curriculum, not the CUSD "revised curriculum".

Staff is going to advise Trustees that the acceptable revisions will occur after their approval, and that Trustees should approve this curriculum on good faith.

CUSD Teachers do not want to teach this curriculum- those teachers and parents who have carefully studied the curriculum feel that the curriculum is NOT age appropriate. More changes need to occur.

I sent a PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST to CUSD and asked that a copy of the curriculum be put online so that working Parents and members of the Public would have a greater opportunity to review the curriculum for themselves. CUSD refused to do this citing copy write infringement laws. Any parent that wants to review the curriculum is forced to go to the District Office and read it on premise during regular business hours.

It now appears that Parents will have three days to read a copy of the original curriculum (or maybe the revised curriculum, who knows!) at each Middle School site before a parent meeting at each site.

The issue of parents "opting out" was an underlying concern of Teachers at the meeting. CUSD Staff dismissed these concerns stating that CUSD did not believe that most parents really care about the sex-ed curriculum. Joshua Hill discounted parent concerns by saying that "he only hears from the same three people." Maybe that is because so few parents know about this curriculum and have been provided with an opportunity to review the curriculum.

Some teachers expressed concerns that "opting out" is useless because kids will share information about the lessons outside the classroom--and then hear sensitive information from their peers instead of from a trained teacher.

Parents- under "Local Control" CUSD is NOT required to subject your children to this curriculum. If you are a parent that does care about sexual education in our public schools then you must speak up now.

Tonight Trustees will have the opportunity to vote to eliminate CCP and Health as a stand alone class required to graduate. If Health is eliminated, Trustees will be much less likely to implement the Teen Talk Curriculum in 7th and 8th Grade at the March meeting.