The Upper Perkiomen School Board's Educational Programs and Services Committee recommended the approval of a new elementary science curriculum. Last week, it voted unanimously to advance a measure to implement material from Amplify in kindergarten through fifth grade at Thursday's board workshop meeting.

            Trina Schaarschmidt, one of three members of the committee, did not attend the April 18 meeting. One week earlier, she had expressed concerns about the negative impact of a proposed elementary school science curriculum.

            "As a mom and a community member, I'm personally surprised to see what this district has already slipped in unnoticed and unquestioned," Schaarschmidt said during the board comment portion of the April 11 regular meeting.

            Schaarschmidt previously ] warned the board members of the district's potential exposure to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). She questioned if the curriculum had a "political leaning," and asked rhetorically if the district's teachers chose the curriculum "to meet social justice standards created by the Southern Poverty Law Center." The member provided no evidence to support her concerns.

            "We are not here for politics," committee Chair Emily McCormick said prior to the vote, according to the closed captioning of the YouTube video linked to the district's website. "We are not here to push agendas. We're here to get these kids ready [for their futures]."

            Last week, the district's director of curriculum and instruction explained the curriculum review process. Kimberly Bast described the material from Amplify as a "high quality, next generation curriculum."

            Bast argued that the best way to disseminate information is to have a conversation. She said that people sometimes have a tendency to look at things through their own lens, and "...sometimes that may be political," Bast said. "We're not here for politics. We're not here for social initiatives. We're here for kids, and it was really important to look at the value of the academic product, and that's why we chose Amplify."

            Bast disputed a previous comment that administrators had not seen Amplify's mission statement prior to making the recommendation and claimed that she did not realize the company's DEI stance existed until she was recently informed of it.

            "Amplify is dedicated to collaborating with educators to create learning experiences that are rigorous and riveting for all students," Bast said during the meeting, according to the closed captioning of the YouTube video.

            According to Bast, the district's teachers who participated on the curriculum review team "did a tremendous job of choosing activities that will engage students." Some attended the committee meeting.

            "The rubric used by the district is only concerned with the quality of the material," Bast said. "We're looking at it through the eyes of the students."

            Of the five different products researched, the review team determined that the Amplify curriculum complied much more closely with Pennsylvania's Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability Standards, according to the administrator.

            Bast also claimed it reinforces reading and writing skills.

            According to a previous email from district spokesperson Alexis Jenofsky, the curriculum review team determined that the Amplify curriculum is one of the few elementary science resources that align closely with the Next Generation Science Standards, recently endorsed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.