May 2026
On May 13, 2026, the Woodland Park School Board discussed its Strategic Plan, Budget/Scheduling, Social Studies Standards, Curriculum Review & Course Reconfiguration, Student Fees, and ESEA General Assurances. During the discussion about Social Studies, Director of Academics Karen Hamlow said it is time for Woodland Park to return to following the State Social Studies Academic Standards for several reasons.
In her presentation, Academic Director Hamlow outlined why Woodland Park should return to following the Colorado Social Studies Academic Standards.
- Standards Consistency
- For all of our other courses, Woodland Park is following state standards. She emphasized that consistency is the guiding document they consult when making instructional decisions.
- State Assessment Alignment
- CMAS Social Studies has not been taken away yet; therefore, grades 4 & 7 should be following state standards. American Birthright would not prepare Woodland Park students for the state assessment.
- Critical Thinking
- Colorado state social studies standards allow for a depth of learning as opposed to a very shallow breadth of learning. American Birthright standards don’t allow for deep critical thinking, a lot of material memorizing facts, and you move on; there is no depth.
- Global Perspective
- Global perspective just studiying Unites State History and how things affect us is not enough, students need to understand the world that they inhabit.
Additional reasons were given regarding American Birthright standards for the Secondary Social Studies curriculum. When American Birthright was introduced, those were just standards; there was no accompanying curriculum, so there were no resources. For several years, Woodland Park Teachers have been operating without resources and doing the immensely hard work of finding them. The Director of Academics, Hamlow, said she would like to alleviate that issue by bringing in a curriculum with tools and resources so teachers are not out searching the web for resources.
Woodland Park is now considering two Social Studies curricula for approval that offer many more resources to build something great for their students. McGraw-Hill: Actively Learn and TCI Social Studies. Hamlow said that the Academic Department would curate the materials for teachers.
A school board director asked Academic Director Hamlow if the board had to vote on moving away from American Birthright Standards and adopting the new curriculum. Hamlow responded, “No, with our board policy right now, the board doesn’t even need it, it’s just I’m informing you. But most other districts do have the board voting on curriculum. So, that’s one of those policies that CASB will, I’m sure, be reviewing.”
Social Studies Curriculum Discussion starts at 5:03:42
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