Impacting the Curricula At Your Child’s School

Is there a way to impact the curriculum at your child's school?

In our society today, we have really begun to see the impact of politics and social norms on school curricula.

In our society today, we have really begun to see the impact of politics and social norms on school curricula. Some of the changes are welcomed while other changes are troubling based upon one’s personal beliefs. As a school principal this was a topic of concern that I dealt with often. I would have Parents call me and tell me that they were dissatisfied with a particular topic or class that was being taught. Some would be completely dissatisfied with entire courses of study. The system that I worked for had options for Parents, they could opt out of certain controversial content with a written notification or request a class change.

If you would like to have your voice heard in relation to the curriculum that is being taught in your child's school, you have a few options.

Make an appointment to speak with the curriculum department for your school system.

Make an appointment to speak with the curriculum department for your school system. This is usually the department in charge of determining what is taught. They also do the research to find the vendors that have the program that is the best fit and aligns with the core standards established by the state. They are also usually given a budget with which to purchase these programs or pay staff members to write curriculum. If you set up a meeting with these individuals that should be able to provide you with their process for community input for curriculum.

Attend School Board Meetings to give input.

Attend School Board Meetings to give input. Often times School Boards give community members a set amount of time to give feedback about a certain topic. You usually have to sign up ahead of time and give the board an idea of what you want to talk about.

Join The School Board.

Join The School Board. If you are feeling ambitious and have the time in your schedule you can always run to be a member of the school board. You will need to find out what the process is for your district in order to join the school board, you should keep in mind that it will be a commitment that will come with duties that you will need to uphold. But if holistic change is what you are looking to do, this is one of the best ways.

As you can see there are a few ideas with varying levels of commitment that you can use to make some real curriculum changes for your district.