Curriculum Committee Meeting - 10/6/2026

Curriculum Committee Meeting — October 6, 2026

The West Bend School District Curriculum Committee met from 4:30 to 5:34 p.m. The meeting focused on four discussion items.

1. Future Middle School Model

The district presented a proposed Badger middle school program in preparation for the arrival of sixth grade. Work began in January 2025, after the referendum passed, with teachers, administrators, and school teams contributing to the program and schedule design.

Guiding Goals

• Support the district mission of preparing all students for college readiness and career success.
• Provide coherent, well-aligned instruction from kindergarten through grade 12.
• Protect core instructional time, including time for reteaching and additional student support.
• Give students age-appropriate opportunities to explore interests before making high school course choices.
• Make the elementary-to-middle-school transition more manageable and reduce the number of daily class transitions.

Proposed Grade-Level Structure

• Grade 6: Required English, math, science, social studies, and FIAD, plus PE and a required music experience. Students choose band, choir, orchestra, or general music. A 25-day exploratory rotation introduces art, business and IT, health sciences, family and consumer science, introductory world language, study skills, and technology.
• Grade 7: Core classes and PE remain required. Students choose either music or World Language Part 1, which can earn high school credit. Students also rotate quarterly through art, business and IT, family and consumer science, and technology education.
• Grade 8: Students have more choice through a points-based course-selection system. PE is required and worth two points; students select other courses to meet the eight-point total. They may continue with World Language Part 2 or take a full-year language course, which replaces the elective rotation.

The presentation emphasized that the language pathway is being reorganized so students can pursue language study more cohesively and still access music through different grade-level or virtual options. Committee members raised concerns about placing music and world language in competition in grade 7. Presenters acknowledged the trade-off and said students would have alternative pathways to pursue both.

Rationale and Next Steps

• The proposed schedule would provide 90 minutes for math, addressing a current shortage of instructional and reteaching time. ELA already has 90 minutes.
• Exploratory courses are intended to introduce students to subjects and possible career interests they might not otherwise encounter.
• A more predictable schedule may help stabilize staffing and make it easier to share staff between buildings.
• Teachers will continue developing course content, grading practices, and implementation details. The committee is reviewing the proposal before it goes to the full board. Course guides are needed for families in winter, with fully developed courses expected to return for review in spring.

2. High School Course Planning Guide

The district reviewed proposed additions, revisions, and course sunsets.

Additions

• New transcripted-credit offerings from Marine Park Technical College: Basic Lab Skills and Health, Safety, and Nutrition.
• The PE team proposed bringing back Personal Fitness for students interested in fitness beyond team sports.

Revisions

• Course pathways and descriptions will be clarified, including revised flowcharts, descriptions reflecting the adopted English resource, and an updated credit value for College 101.
• Art: Course names and pathways have been reorganized to make starting points clearer and improve students’ access to advanced courses.
• Personal Finance: A prerequisite change will move the course to grades 11–12, which staff considered a better developmental fit.
• Music: Concert Choir and Chamber Strings/Orchestra titles will reflect honors status more clearly. The guide will also clarify an existing upper-level orchestra offering.
• Athletic Training: Credit will change from PE to elective because the course does not teach PE standards.
• World language: French, German, and Spanish pathways will be reorganized into a more typical sequence of four levels followed by advanced study. The change is intended to improve course progression, student placement, and scheduling.

Sunsets

Two courses will be removed because Marine Park Technical College is discontinuing them. The courses were not identified in the subtitles.

3. 2026–27 Out-of-State and International Trip Proposals

The district described its two annual proposal windows: proposals are due September 15 for fall consideration and February 10 for spring consideration. The October proposals would go to the school board for discussion and approval.

New Proposals

• Spanish Club — Costa Rica: Planned for June 2028 for grades 10–12. The language-immersion trip includes cultural, educational, and recreational activities, with fundraising intended to offset costs.
• Band — Disney World: A spring-break motor-coach trip featuring a parade performance, a recording workshop, park time, and other activities.
• West Bend East softball: A proposed April 2027 trip to play non-conference games and prepare for the season. The presenter corrected the date during the meeting.
• Choir — San Juan, Puerto Rico: An eight-day trip planned for April 2027, including performances, cultural music exchanges, a university choral clinic, historical tours, and other learning activities.

Returning or Previously Approved Trips

• French Club — Quebec
• Grade 8 — Washington, D.C.
• SkillsUSA — Atlanta
• FCCLA national competition — San Antonio
• NSDA Speech and Debate — Phoenix
• NCFL Grand Nationals — Minneapolis
• FBLA National Conference — Columbus, Ohio
• Winter Guard — Chicago
• Senior class trip — Six Flags
• Track — Nike Nationals in Eugene, Oregon
• Wind Ensemble — Music in the Park in Gurnee, Illinois

The committee was generally supportive of providing students with these experiences. One question concerned the choir trip’s chaperone numbers and stated ratio. Staff said they would use a 12-to-1 ratio and noted that the figures had previously required clarification.

4. Human Growth and Development Advisory Committee

The district proposed reconstituting a board-appointed advisory committee to review the state-required human growth and development content. This is a review of that statutory component, not a review of the entire health curriculum. The content is taught in grades 4 and 5 and again sometime between grades 8 and 12, depending on when a student takes health.

Committee Composition and Process

• Membership is expected to be approximately 15–20 people, subject to the number of applicants and statutory composition requirements.
• Required perspectives include parents or guardians, teachers, school administrators, students, health-care professionals, clergy, and district residents who do not currently have children attending district schools.
• Parents and guardians may make up 25% or more of the committee; no other listed group may reach that same threshold.
• The district will solicit interest through district communications, its website, school newsletters, and direct outreach to local clergy.
• If more people apply than can be accommodated, the school board will determine the selection process and select members.

Timeline and Planned Work

• October 12: Present the process to the full board and receive feedback.
• October 13: Begin inviting applications, with outreach planned for about two weeks.
• October 26: Bring the proposed selection process to the board.
• November 9: Present applicants for board review and selection.

The committee will review statutory standards and requirements, instructional resources and delivery, student needs and gaps, and possible recommendations for continuing or revising the program. Recommendations will return to the curriculum committee and then the school board for discussion and action.

The district noted that the only statutory change since the prior review in 2022 concerned including information about adoption.

Speakers and Sources Featured

Named Participants Introduced or Speaking

• Melody Ergot — school board member
• Kelly Lang — school board member
• June Krueger — school board member
• Kelly DS — Director of Curriculum and Instruction; presented the middle school model, course guide changes, and trip proposals
• Adrienne Schneider — program administrator; presented the advisory committee process
• Erin Fouse — curriculum coordinator
• Tim — discussed staffing and scheduling; surname was not clear in the subtitles

Other People and Sources Referenced

• Patrick O’Connor, Badger principal, who led teacher-representative schedule teams
• Sarah, who worked on staffing analysis
• District teachers, curriculum teams, administrators, and school principals
• Marine Park Technical College
• State statute governing human growth and development instruction
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, cited regarding recommended math instructional time
• Area-school scheduling models, including Slinger’s points-based model
• District course guides, trip proposals, and advisory-committee process documents