Thursday, October 1, 2026
The message was crystal clear at a Board of Education work session on Jan. 25 at the Middle School: Students need to be prepared for college and the work force.
Before the start of two presentations — one focusing on a ninth grade English Language Arts program and another on a proposed ninth grade social studies program — Dr. Vincent Butera, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, stressed the importance of students being able to succeed both in college and the real world.
“One goal is to have 100 percent of our students graduate high school,” Butera said. “The ultimate goal really is to be able to provide 100 percent of our students with the skills not only to get into college, but to succeed in college.”
The first presentation was dedicated to the recently revised ninth grade honors English program, while the second focused on a new ninth grade social studies curriculum, the latter of which would be introduced in the 2011-12 school year.
Both programs, Butera said, are meant to ensure for greater student learning while providing them with life skills, such as thinking critically, speaking effectively, and working as a part of a team, he explained.
In September, Butera said, a revised grade nine honors English curriculum was introduced to better prepare students to take advantage of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and other college level courses offered during junior and senior year.
Joshua Anisansel, director of English Language Arts, who led the presentation, explained that the aim of the revised program is to challenge students and demand high expectations, while providing them with the support to excel.
“All students are going to be exposed to the most rich and rigorous curriculum that we have available,” said Anisansel.
The revised curriculum for the program differs from last year’s, in that new books have been added and major writing assignments are more relevant and challenging.
In addition, an emphasis has been placed on identity. Students will learn about themselves by analyzing characters through required reading assignments, among other initiatives.
Though Butera acknowledged that there would be students who may choose not to go to college, he said it is equally important that those students are also properly prepared.
“…For those students as well, we need to provide them the skills to make real choices about their post-graduate careers,” Butera said.
Anisansel stressed that given the increased demands students could face in a professional work environment, students need a variety of skills to be able to function and remain competitive.
“A lot of our young folks are going to compete for jobs that we can’t even conceive of today,” Anisansel said. “The emphasis is on how we create literate folks, who can enter into new novel situations and be able to read critically, to be able to speak to a variety of audiences, to be able to collaborate with diverse groups…”
Many of the objectives of the revised English program are also goals of the new ninth grade social studies curriculum. Sean Hurley, director of social studies, said the program is intended to promote more analytical reading and critical writing among students, and to allow them to collaborate in teams and to present clear, convincing arguments.
Hurley said the program would allow for more student-centered projects and in-depth learning. The new curriculum, Hurley said, is aligned with the high school’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, an internationally recognized curriculum that offers juniors and seniors an opportunity to earn an IB diploma or one or more IB certificates. School Superintendent Dr. Robert Greenberg said he believes both presentations have effectively kept the community up-to-date with progress in the district.
“I think it demonstrates how we’ve grown in terms of the instructional programs,” Greenberg said after the meeting.
After the English presentation, Trustee Roy Lester questioned if there was a way to individually measure a student’s growth and what students have learned.
“How are we judging this methodology?” asked Lester. “A student comes into ninth grade. Can you measure how he comes in, and how he goes out? What he got out of it?”
Butera said that students would benefit from the curriculum in the long run.
“Both programs are designed to provide our students with critical skills that [they] need,” Butera said.
