Controversial Curriculum Plan Approved By Pennridge School Board

PERKASIE, PA — The Pennridge School Board this week voted 5 to 4 to approve a controversial social studies curriculum improvement plan for the district's elementary school that some say promotes an extremist right-wing view of history.

On Monday night, hundreds packed the auditorium of the Pennridge High School to urge the board to vote down the curriculum plan, which was developed with assistance from Vermillion Education and its CEO, Jordan Adams.

Adams has become a lightning rod in the district's curriculum debate because of his background as a graduate and former employee of Hillsdale College, a conservative, Christian school in Michigan that created the 1776 curriculum plan. The 1776 curriculum plan has been accused of "whitewashing" American history by liberals.

Adams has said Vermilion Education has no ties to Hillsdale College.

Prior to the vote, board members sparred over the curriculum plan with one member calling it "partisan and political" and another saying it will allow students to become "critical thinkers."

"Typically our teachers and superintendent write the curriculum and bring it to us. Instead, this is curriculum written by an outsider with no experience in public education. On top of that our teachers and administrators are vehemently opposed to it," said board member Ronald Wurz. "The community is united against Vermillion and Mr. Adams on both sides of the aisle. We need to listen to our community.

"I hear over and over again how we want to remove bias from the curriculum. That is obviously a lie if we pass this tonight," said Wurz. "The Hillsdale College curriculum has not garnered any endorsements from any history, civics or educational professionals. It is important that we build our curriculum on a sound foundation rather than polarizing ideology ... Tonight we have an opportunity to change our school board to one that respects our community. Please do the right thing and vote no."

Board member Megan Banis-Clemens, who voted with the majority in favor of the curriculum change, said it was the administration who brought the request to update the social studies curriculum to the board two years ago. They were looking for a "consistent" curriculum across the district, she said. "We brought in Jordan Adams to help with that process," she said.

"There seems to be more comments about the person rather than the substance of the curriculum," she said during comments at the meeting. "Whether people like him or not, he is not the issue. The school code in Pennsylvania literally gives full authority to the school district on curriculum writing with the only requirement being that it covers the standards. He's qualified," she said. "And most of you who are complaining about his qualifications are saying the teachers should be writing the curriculum when the teachers don't have the qualifications that he has. He's also been director of curriculum elsewhere.

"A board member mentioned at the last meeting that we need to be teaching all perspectives and views. I disagree," she said. "We need to be teaching the facts and encouraging students to formulate their own views and think critically for themselves, not memorize a liberal or conservative perspective," she said. "We should be encouraging kids to dissect the information in all different ways and not memorize other people's takeaways."

Banis-Clemons said it's not "whitewashing American history" to have students draw conclusions on their own. "It's creating critical thinkers who will go on to solve the problems everyone else will miss," she said.

In a series of motions, the board approved a plan to incorporate the ninth grade curriculum into this upcoming school year and passed changes to the elementary curriculum, but postponed them until next year.