Curricular modification makes history with freshman class

Within the next two years, US History will be fully integrated into a course for incoming freshmen. These changes will be felt by social studies departments in middle and high schools across the state in response to lasting requests for reform and acknowledgement of student needs. The new class structuring is set to focus on student comprehension and preparedness for a future as a civic citizen, according to Tanya Schmidt, the social studies curriculum coordinator of the Oshkosh Area School District. 

“In 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released an updated Scope and Sequence for K-5, 6-8, and 9th grade which is much more civics focused than it had been in the past,” she said. “Civics education equips students with the knowledge and skills to be informed and engaged citizens. They learn to understand their rights, responsibilities, and how the government functions.”

US History will be stretched out over the course of a few grades, beginning in middle school and bleeding into the early high school years, according to Schmidt. 

“In the 2025-26 school year, seventh graders will begin to learn about the foundations of the United States. Eighth grade will continue to teach US history as it has been in the past,” she said. “In the 2026-27 school year, ninth graders will begin having US history as their first year course. There will be an overlap year where tenth graders will also need to have this course to prepare for the required Civics exam.”

Changes in the history curriculum have been on the table for a long time, according to Social Studies Department Chair Michael Allen

“This has been a discussion for a while, and I think enough people started wanting this switch to make it happen,” he said. “There is a lot of change all around the school district. People are always looking for ways to make it more effective.”

West Principal Rebecca Montour said that staff have experienced problems with the current arrangement of social studies courses. 

“A lot of our teachers were asking about the change,” she said. “For years, they have had a lot of trouble fitting all of the US History curriculum in tenth grade, so they’re starting to revamp the middle school curriculum and thought it would make sense to move it to ninth grade, too.”

However, staff will not solely reap the benefits of a rehabilitated social studies curriculum, as freshmen students will experience an easier transition into high school subjects.

“Ninth graders coming into World Cultures don’t have a lot of background knowledge on that course because they had just taken US History,” Montour said. “As a freshman level course, it makes sense to build on what they were doing in middle school.” 

In addition, a continuum of consecutive US History classes provides students with a deeper understanding of the content. Allen believes it will help them transverse life skills that tend to be brushed over in single-year history courses.

“With the new structuring, you’re not having this World Cultures bomb thrown at you in the middle of this US History continuum” he said. “We’ll be able to focus more on historical sources and building literacy skills, critical thinking and comparison skills. It is much more than just blowing through the content.” 

Allen also believes that the new history structure will correspond with student understanding of local and large scale themes. 

“You’re working from smaller, local topics in the earlier grades to large global topics as students come closer to becoming global citizens,” he said. 

State testing scores may also rise, according to Julie Moss of the West social studies department. 

“This is also supposed to help with Forward Testing,” she said. “The content is relevant and should help improve scores.”

Moss said that the Global Academy will pioneer the new history structuring at West due to its unique class organization. 

“Next year, the Global Academy will be piloting this social studies plan for the high school level, and the eighth grade will be taking this up too, so their changes are coinciding,” she said. “Global will be different because we have a certain sequencing, and if we don’t jump on this, we’ll have juniors that will have to go back and take US History with freshmen.”

When standard social studies classes are set to rearrange in the 2026-2027 school year, Allen stated that corresponding AP courses will shift as well. 

“AP US History will be a freshman class, as opposed to the current AP World History, which will be a course for older students,” he said. “Government and AP Government will still be taken in junior year; that hasn’t changed.” 

Renovated class structuring is one of a few recent changes in the West social studies department, including the introduction of new courses. Montour believes that the changes highlight student demands and striving toward meeting them. 

“The department is really taking a look at how to best meet student needs and what classes and what order would benefit students if they go post-secondary. For instance, AP Psychology. Psychology is a course needed in many different fields, and this opens a way for students to get that college credit in high school,” she said. “They’re really just looking at meeting student interests.” 

Allen believes course variety has led to social studies departmental modification.

“We had pretty paltry options for classes, and while that may make it easy for staff, it’s not exactly the best for kids,” he said. “We want to build opportunities for students and make sure that classes are sequenced in ways that make sense and maximize their ability to retain knowledge.”

by Phoebe Fletcher

Published on February 24 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue V