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Heads up! Our parent watchdogs have scanned the upcoming agenda for Upper Township School District. We found 11 items that need your immediate attention before the vote.
| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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Discredited ‘Balanced Literacy’ Reading Curriculum Adopted
The district is adopting “Lucy Calkins Units of Study” for grades K-2 and using “Balanced Literacy” materials through grade 8. This method has been widely proven to be ineffective and is a primary cause of poor reading skills because it fails to teach systematic phonics.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: Demand the board reject the ‘Lucy Calkins’ and ‘Balanced Literacy’ curriculum in Item 12.A. Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Our children deserve a science-based reading curriculum, not the failed ‘Balanced Literacy’ approach. Vote NO on these textbooks and choose a program that teaches phonics.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Your Child’s Reading Ability
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 9) |
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Contracts with External Mental Health/Social Work Vendors
The bill list includes payments to “Acenda Integrated Health” ($3,977) and “Genesis Educational Services” ($34,407 for “Social Work”). These contracts can create pathways for students to receive mental health or social services at school without full parental knowledge or consent.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding the payments to Acenda and Genesis, what specific services are being provided to students, and what is the district’s policy for obtaining active parental consent before a student receives these services?’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Parental Consent Bypassed
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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District Approving Data-Mining Screen-Time Software
The district is approving the “I-Ready” curriculum and the bill list shows a $28,637 payment to “IXL.” These programs replace teacher-led instruction with adaptive computer software that collects vast amounts of student data.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding Item 12.A and the payment to IXL, what specific student data do these programs collect, who owns it, and how can parents opt their children out of this data collection and excessive screen time?’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Your Child’s Data
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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District Paying for SEL Curriculum Vendor
The district is paying $2,800 to “Open Parachute Ltd.” This is a known Social Emotional Learning (SEL) vendor that provides curriculum on mental health topics, often replacing academic instruction time.
Recommended Action Plan
DEMAND ANSWERS: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Parents send their children to school for academics, not for mental health curriculum from vendors like Open Parachute. Vote NO on this payment and redirect funds to core subjects.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: $2,800
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| 🚨 HIGH CONCERN (LEVEL 8) |
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Board Rushing Policies, Bypassing Public Review
Under item 15.A, the Board is voting to suspend its own rule that requires two public readings before adopting a new policy. This tactic is used to rush controversial policies through with minimal public awareness or opportunity for comment.
Recommended Action Plan
PACK THE ROOM: This is a direct attack on transparency. Sign up for public comment and tell the board: ‘Do not suspend your own rules to limit public input. We demand the full two readings for all new policies as required by Bylaw 0131.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Reduced Board Oversight
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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Social-Emotional Programming for Preschoolers
The district is adopting “Creative Curriculum” for Pre-School, a program from Teaching Strategies, LLC. This curriculum is heavily focused on “whole child” Social Emotional Learning (SEL) rather than foundational academic skills like letters and numbers.
Recommended Action Plan
ASK THE BOARD: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding the ‘Creative Curriculum’ in Item 12.A, please provide the specific lesson plans on social-emotional topics. Parents have a right to know what is being taught to our youngest learners.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Academics Replaced by SEL
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 7) |
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Vague Title — Manual Review Required
The board is approving the district’s Professional Development Plan for the entire school year, but the plan itself is not attached to the agenda. These plans are often used to introduce controversial ideological training (like DEI or Critical Race Theory) to teachers.
Recommended Action Plan
INVESTIGATE: Open the file ‘2026-2027 Upper Twonship School District Professional Developement Plan.pdf’ attached to Item 12.C in the Official Agenda (linked above) to confirm whether it contains sensitive policy changes or ideological training.
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Undisclosed Teacher Training
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| ⚠️ NEEDS REVIEW (LEVEL 6) |
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Vague Title — Manual Review Required
The board is approving “Affirmative Action Team Members, Affirmative Action Grievance Procedures, and Affirmative Action Organization Chart” under item 18.A. The documents are not attached, hiding the specifics of what could be a new DEI bureaucracy.
Recommended Action Plan
INVESTIGATE: The documents for Item 18.A are not in the agenda packet. Contact the District Office (see the Official Agenda link) and demand copies of the Affirmative Action procedures and chart before the board votes.
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Hidden DEI Bureaucracy
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| 👀 MONITOR (LEVEL 5) |
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Student Behavior Tracking to Justify More SEL
The district is accepting the Student Safety Data System (SSDS) report, which documents every incident of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB). This data collection is often the first step used by districts to justify implementing more SEL programs, “restorative justice,” and other non-academic interventions.
Recommended Action Plan
OPT-OUT ALERT: Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Regarding the SSDS report, how is this data used to change school policy? Parents are concerned this will be used to justify more SEL programming instead of addressing discipline and academics.’
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Your Child’s Behavior Data
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| ALERT (LEVEL 4) |
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Handbook Pushes “Whole Child” Ideology
The district’s official Parent/Student Handbook (Item 21.C) states its mission is to “educate the whole child.” This is a well-known euphemism for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and signals a focus on a child’s values and emotions, not just academic knowledge.
Recommended Action Plan
Monitor: This language confirms the district’s ideological direction. Use this in conversations with board members to ask for a renewed focus on core academic subjects.
💰 Taxpayer Impact: Focus on Emotions, Not Academics
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✅ Wins to Defend
Good moves worth showing up to support so they stick.
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| Major Win (LEVEL 7) |
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District Adopts Common-Sense AI Policy
The new Acceptable Use of AI Plan (Item 18.G) contains important protections for students. It prohibits teachers from using AI for final grading and from relying solely on flawed AI-detection software to accuse a student of cheating.
How to Lock It In
AMPLIFY THIS WIN: Show up to thank the Board for adopting a thoughtful AI policy that protects students. Email the Board (contact info on district website): ‘Thank you for passing an AI plan that puts students first and prevents unfair reliance on flawed technology. Please ensure this is implemented faithfully.’
✅ Why It Matters: Protects Student Rights
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“We do not co-parent with the government.”
We are Moms, Dads, Grands, Aunts, Uncles, Friends. Moms for Liberty welcomes all that have a desire to stand up for parental rights at all levels of government.
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