Parents Urged To Help Draft Curriculum Guides

The president of the Idaho Parent-Teacher Association is calling on parents throughout the state to take an active role in finalizing curriculum guides that stress basic skill education in kindergarten through sixth grade.

“Parent involvement is critical to the success of public education,” Terry Anderson of Pocatello said on Friday. “I hope that many parents will get involved in the process.”

The draft guides should be in all school districts and libraries by early next week for review by teachers, parents and others. Their comments will be returned to state Schools Superintendent Anne Fox and her staff by May 31. They will finalize the guides for consideration and adoption by the state Board of Education in June.

“It’s up to the school districts to use them, but we’re hoping to set high standards for the school districts,” Fox said. “People around the state have asked for very specific skills our students should learn.”

The draft guidelines for Skill Based Curriculum were developed with the help of teachers, parents and others, and now Fox and Anderson hope to draw even more people into putting together the final product.

The subject-by-subject, grade-by-grade guidelines, which are accompanied by tests to determine progress, cover not only traditional topics like reading, mathematics and social studies but also subjects like etiquette and patriotism. Specific concerns such as the ability to make change or perform mathematical computations without a calculator are addressed.

Gov. Phil Batt said he would review the material before commenting on the specifics, but he endorsed the way the guides were developed.

“I like the process because this is to get approval from the local level,” the governor said. “I think we ought to be clear on what we want from our students. The broad public support is what is needed.”