EMERSON—A community forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wed., June 8 by the Emerson Public School District to discuss implementation of the new statewide Comprehensive Health and Physical Education standards in grades K through 12 beginning this September.
The forum for parents, guardians, and taxpayers will take place in the Emerson Junior-Senior High School cafeteria.
The public input session will occur before final local Health and Physical Education curriculum standards are considered for approval by the Board of Education, officials said.
Emerson District Superintendent Brian Gatens, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology Alice Opperman, and instructional staff will attend to answer questions from parents and residents about the new state-mandated standards, which have caused controversy over sensitive topics related to sex education, gender identity and human reproduction.
The state Board of Education has asked the state Attorney General’s Office if it might consider delaying implementation by one month — until October — to review additional public input on the standards. The updated standards were approved by the state education board in summer 2020.
Critics have charged that due to the Covid pandemic, most parents were not aware of the updated standards being approved by the state.
A letter issued by Opperman on June 1 provides links to all draft lesson plans prepared locally for grades K-6 and grades 7-12 that parents can review ahead of the meeting. It also links to two videos: A grade 5 video on puberty and a grade 6 video on the reproductive system.
For second graders, the district uses a read-aloud book: “Who Has What? All About Girls’ Bodies and Boys’ Bodies” by Robie H. Harris. This text is available for families to borrow through the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS) and a link is provided.
“The scope and content of Sexual Health Education has been a topic of much discussion across the state. Please note that within the scope and sequence of our elementary Health and Wellness curriculum, topics related to Sexual Health begin with a single 30-minute lesson at grade 2 and between 2-4 lessons each at grades 5 and 6,” Opperman said.
“As has always been the case, parents may have their children excused from these lessons without penalty by presenting signed notification to the principal,” writes Opperman in her email to parents.
Opperman said that at the Junior-Senior High School level, the updated 2020 state standards “do not represent a large change in course from what is already taught. We will continue to use the high school textbook that was adopted in 2012.”
She said supplemental information for (high school) instruction may be found in a linked curriculum draft. The letter included links for “the full breadth of what will be used as part of the Health/Physical Education instruction, including topics covered and related classroom resources.”
The curriculum drafts included a Draft Elementary Health and Wellness K-6 (June 2022) Curriculum and a Draft Health 7-12 (June 2022) Curriculum.
“Again, parents may have their children excused without penalty from any portion of the health course that is in conflict with their beliefs,” Opperman repeats.
Opperman described the process used to create the draft Health & Physical Education (PE) local curriculum. This included:
- Review of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards document and supporting research
- District attendance at relevant professional development at the county and state level
- Independent work by experienced teachers certified in this subject area to develop new units
- based on the standards
- Classroom release time for teachers to work collaboratively with one another and administrators to revise units
- Regular conversations with curriculum leaders in nearby districts
- Preview and discussion of selected lesson resources with relevant staff (Full PE department,
- School Nurse, Building Principals)
- Review by the Emerson Board of Education Academic Committee.