On May 13, 2024, the AAUW Morgan Hill Branch, in collaboration with the Morgan Hill Unified School District, hosted a panel discussion on “Hot Topics in Public School Curricula.” The event was held in the Morgan Hill Library community room and was attended by roughly 60 people, of whom a third were AAUW members and the rest were members of the community, including retired teachers and young families with their children.
The panel included Morgan Hill Unified School District administrators, teachers, students, and AAUW Morgan Hill Branch members. Susan Rife, AAUW Morgan Hill Branch Public Policy Chair, moderated a panel discussion which included the process to establish and adopt school curricula standards, how reading materials are selected and approved, and what is covered in courses such as ethnic studies and human reproduction.
The audience viewed curriculum textbooks and posed questions for the panel about a variety of topics including curricula, literacy assessment, instruction of indigenous history and culture, how gender and sexual orientation are taught, and what the difference is between equity and equality.
The event provided the community with an opportunity to speak directly with school teachers and administrators about school curricula, and the audience response was overwhelmingly positive.