Updated 6:30 p.m. Aug. 22

The Great Falls Public Schools board unanimously approved new standards for the social studies curriculum during their Aug. 22 meeting.

The “know-understand-do” standards, written by grade level, were first presented during the July 18 meeting.

The new social studies standards have been posted on the district website and public comment was accepted through Aug. 19.

The district curriculum coordinators said they received four community surveys and a few comments about grammatical fixes, so no changes to the standards were made based on public feedback.

There was no board discussion about the new standards.

The board will be asked to accept the new standards during their Aug. 22 meeting and if they do, the district will begin a textbook search for elementary and secondary schools. At that time, it would be determined if new materials are recommended by the social studies curriculum committee.

GFPS working on update to social studies curriculum

During the July 18 board meeting, Rachel Cutler and Beckie Frisbee, the district’s curriculum coordinators, told the board that they started the process during the summer of 2021.

They said that 45 teachers, administrators and community members gathered to look at the new state standards for social studies, which were developed nationally after the College, Career and Civic Readiness framework and adopted at the state level under the curriculum review cycle established by the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

GFPS looking to overhaul English curriculum

Cutler and Frisbee said that there are two major changes in that there’s an expectation that social studies be more active, engaging and inquiry based.

They said the social studies should ask more compelling questions, such as “what makes money money” and “why do we need rules.”

The new standards also outline specific areas to include history, economics, geography and government.

The new standards are broken out by grade level.

Cutler and Frisbee asked the board to look at the draft of the new standards and provide feedback.

Cutler and Frisbee said that once they finish the update to the social studies curriculum, next will be career and technical education, library science and math.