Jun. 29—The Harford County Board of Education approved new curricula for high school U.S. history and social sciences in grades one through three at its meeting Monday evening.

The new curricula align with frameworks approved by the Maryland State Department of Education in 2020.

During the 2018-2019 school year, the state department of education formed work groups to draft a new framework for high school U.S. history. The work groups included educators from across Maryland who used feedback from educators, community stakeholders, industry professionals, and data from national trends and best practices, including from the National Council for Social Studies, according to an action report from the Harford County Public Schools' General Curriculum Committee.

In summer 2021, the school system began to revise the U.S. history curriculum guide for high school so that it is aligned with the new framework. Throughout the 2021-22 school year, the HCPS Office of Social Sciences facilitated professional development for itsU.S. history teachers to help them learn unfamiliar content and instructional approaches.

Full revisions were completed in summer 2022, and pilot status was approved in all HCPS high schools for the 2022-23 school year.

The new curriculum for high school U.S. history will enable the teaching of more modern history and use more diverse voices to help students view and analyze the past.

Board members Diane Alvarez and Melissa Hahn motioned to table the decision to approve the new history curriculum. Hahn said that it does not teach all of U.S. history since lesson one starts in 1877.

"Our history actually begins in 1492 when Columbus [discovered] North America; on Aug. 30, 1620, the pilgrims came and established the Plymouth colony; on Nov. 11, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed; the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, the First Continental Congress, the Battle of Lexington and Concord; on July 4, our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence. Are we supposed to forget that?" asked Hahn. "It is our job to teach everything. The good, bad and the ugly. The history of the United States is an accumulation of every event that has happened up to this point, and we can't erase it. We must teach all of history, and we can't forget the past."

However, the historical events that Hahn mentioned are taught in grades two through five and grade eight, according to Erin Lang, supervisor of social sciences for the school system.

"The framework picks up where history in grade eight left off," said Lang. "The framework from the state is the content that we have to align to, and we are required to teach all of the content and framework provided by the state."

The same framework work groups formed by the Maryland State Department of Education were also used for social sciences taught in grades one through three, Lang said. The framework focuses on the six state social studies standards: civics, peoples of the nations and world, geography, economics, history, and skills and processes.

During summer 2021, the Harford public schools began to revise the social science 1, 2 and 3 curriculum guides so that they are aligned with the new frameworks. Full revisions were completed in summer 2022, and approved for pilot status in all county elementary schools for the 2022-23 school year. Professional development support was provided to all teachers during the launch, according to an action report from the General Curriculum Committee.

Hahn and Alvarez motioned to defer the decision due to the lack of sufficient information.

"Even in our small group presentations there were many questions that arose that we haven't had the chance to resolve," said Hahn, "like to see the actual curriculum, and to verify what it is that we are actually teaching."

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Alvarez said she previously met with Lang to discuss the curriculum and wanted to defer the decision to continue the discussion.

"Some of the outcomes out of that meeting seem like there's additional work to be done," Alvarez said.

The code of Maryland Regulations requirements for Social Studies Instructional Programs for grades prekindergarten through 12 states that each public school system must provide an instructional program in social studies each year for all students in grades prekindergarten through eight, and offer a social studies program in grades nine through 12 that enables students to meet graduation requirements and to select social studies electives, according to the state department of education.

The school system will lose state funding if it does not teach a curriculum that aligns with the frameworks proposed by the Maryland State Department of Education, Lang said. Since both frameworks were approved in 2020, the school system could be audited at anytime by MSDE, she said. Modifications can be made to the curriculum after approval.

The school board approved both curricula by a majority vote, with Hahn voting against them.

The next board meeting is July 17 at 6:30 p.m.