The Salisbury Township school board held its monthly meeting of the curriculum and technology committee June 2 via Zoom.

The meeting opened with Director of Teaching and Learning Kelly Pauling providing an update on the potential forthcoming English Language Arts program changes for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Starting in late February, the district began piloting several new programs to better align with Salisbury’s standards and goals for learning. There are three top contenders for programs being examined and have been softly piloted in classrooms, which allows students and teachers to provide feedback in real time.

At the current juncture, in terms of selecting a new ELA curriculum, Pauling said, “Despite our best efforts we are just not there yet.” Pilot efforts will continue in the fall, as opposed to making a final decision to be in place for September of the 2021-2022 school year.

Pauling also reported professional development will continue for staff over the summer, by way of book studies, workshops, curriculum writing, independent study opportunities and more.

The elementary curriculum plan was also presented by Pauling and Salisbury Elementary School principal Zachary Brem. The desire to update the curriculum plan comes with an intent to align Salisbury’s curriculum resources to Pennsylvania core standards more completely, streamline resources to maximize results, build a more equitable and inclusive learning environment and also to modernize the learning experience.

The plan is a 5-year initiative, slowly incorporating a new research-based math program, curriculum revisions for ELA and science as well. Brem said by strengthening the elementary curriculum, the district is serving students in middle and high school as well by creating a stronger foundation.

The team is also proposing a fifth special area for elementary students focused on STEM concepts. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines - science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Funding this portion of instruction would in fact be budget neutral, according to Pauling. Board members such as Samuel DeFrank and Mary Ziegler applauded the inclusion of a program of this nature.

The next curriculum and technology meeting will take place 7 p.m. Aug. 4.