ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Allentown School Board approved the new 2023-2024 Program of Studies on Thursday night, which includes changes to math, literacy, science and social studies curriculum.
The vote was 9-0.
- The Allentown School Board approved a new curriculum for social studies that teaches history thematically
- Board member Phoebe Harris previously opposed the change as "woke"
- Harris said meeting with staff alleviated her concerns about the changes
The curriculum changes stem from recommendations from a 2018 audit that found existing policies and plans inadequate to provide students with equal access to class resources, programs and services.
It also found low test scores and performance gaps evident among students by gender, race, economic status and non-native English speakers.
The new social studies courses would be taught as themes but not in chronological order. When the changes were presented in committee earlier this month, school board member Phoebe Harris objected to the switch, saying it sounded “woke” and like a theory similar to Critical Race Theory. CRT, as it’s called, is an academic framework that examines how institutions perpetuate racism, which is generally taught in graduate programs or law school.
On Thursday, Harris said she now supported the changes to social studies after meeting with Allentown school staff involved in creating the new curriculum. She said her earlier objections were related to the presentation of the new material.
“It is going to be thematic, not theory,” she said. “And that’s one of the things I wanted to make sure because there are going to be facts behind it.”
“It is going to be thematic, not theory and that’s one of the things I wanted to make sure because there are going to be facts behind it.”ASD Board Director Phoebe Harris
Under the proposal, Contemporary American Studies would replace U.S. History I and Contemporary World Studies replaces World Cultures. Contemporary Issues in Civics and Government would be substituted for U.S. History 2, and Financial and Economic Studies would be put into place instead of Economics.
The literacy courses were updated to align with the new social studies classes.
The new program of studies also makes changes to math and science offerings to include career pathways to prepare students for life after graduation. The Information Technology Academy was revamped and a game design class was added. The district also plans to offer certifications in areas such as cybersecurity and graphic design. Two teachers would be added to teach science and technology classes.
In other businesses, two new board members took their seats on the board. Andrene Brown and Evelyn Santana are filling the seats vacated by Charlie Thiel and new state Sen. Nick Miller.
