ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) -- The Abilene Independent School District has voted unanimously to apply for a grant that would require the use of the Bluebonnet Curriculum in classrooms.
After a case study by a group of 50 district educators, they found weak points in the English and Language Art Curriculum, including not meeting the state average on past STAAR tests. The group surveyed and visited other schools to come up with what they feel is the best solution for AISD.
Dr. John Kuhn, Superintendent for AISD, said he was excited to hear from teachers about the curriculum's recommendation.
"I'm excited because our teachers are excited. This is a recommendation that they brought to us. This isn't from the top down. This is from our educators," Dr. Kuhn said. "What they liked about it was that it emphasized critical thinking skills, and they saw it in the schools they went to visit. They saw a lot of consistency from classroom to classroom that teachers were teaching."
The Bluebonnet Curriculum, recently passed by the State Board of Education, would allow biblical references in the materials, including the Golden Rule and the story of the Good Samaritan.
Due to its ties to the Christian religion, residents gathered to express their opinions both for and against the decision to include it in AISD.
Abilene resident John Berry said he sees the benefit of the curriculum showing students a larger worldview.
"We need to do some new things to try to get our students to be able to advance in academics. Part of that is critical thinking, which is to be able to not only look at our heritage and where we came from as a nation but also look at all aspects of our society and our culture," Berry said.
Resident Laurent Arndt disagrees with the faith-based nature of the material. She told KTAB/KRBC that she does not think it should be taught in public schools.
"The values that are reflected is not necessarily the values that are reflected by everyone and maybe isn't necessarily what should be taught in public schools," Arndt said.
Superintendent Kuhn acknowledges the decision's pros and cons but emphasizes that the district needs change.
"I've never seen a perfect curriculum in 27 years of being an educator. They all have problems. They can all be nitpicked. What we're looking for is something that really can help us move student academic performance to a new level," Kuhn said.
The LASO Strong Foundations Grant would provide funds to the district strictly for the program, including instruction and teaching materials. Based on the number of staff and students, the district anticipates receiving around $1 million.
Dr. Kuhn said he believes the material will improve student learning and be an asset to the district.
"We don't just want our kids to learn to read. We want our kids to read and learn. There are some very rich text materials embedded in Bluebonnet that I'm excited to see our kids wrestle with," Kuhn said. "We feel like the Bluebonnet curriculum, taken as a whole, will be very beneficial for our students learning."
If the grant is received, the district can use it for the 2024-25 school year, with the option to replace some of the materials.