File Photo by Joselyn King Ohio County Schools Superintendent Kim Miller, left, provides updates during a past board of education meeting as Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones listens.

Ohio County Schools is hearing some concerns about the new reading curriculum it is implementing throughout the school system, and is now going to take a closer look at the books.

Discussion about the “Wit and Wisdom” reading surfaced at this past week’s board of education meeting, during which a member of the public termed some passages in the books provided too sexually explicit for class reading by minors.

The “Wit and Wisdom” reading program from Great Minds was selected this summer as the reading program to be used by Ohio County Schools. Students and teachers may select from thousands of print reading materials supplied. Included are not just reading books, but picture books, short stories, magazine articles and even novels for older children.

“We have gotten some calls from those concerned about the curriculum,” Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones said. “We have put together a group that is going to look at the curriculum.”

He said about 50 teachers in the district initially worked with student services director Raquel McLeod to select the Wit and Wisdom reading platform for students. A similar group is going to work in the coming days to review concerns expressed by the public.

“Are the controversial topics few enough that we can pull them and still have a good enough reading series?” Jones asked. “Or is it so pervasive throughout that we may need to pull many? If that’s the case, we may have to get together and change it completely.”

It appears there is just a small percentage of the books that are controversial, according to Jones.

“There are also a lot of good things other school districts say they have never seen before,” he said. “If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to pull the controversial things out and still have a really good reading series.”

He said he has had conversations with those contacting about the reading material, and they were pleased with the school district’s plan to review the program. Judi Myers said she and other residents in the community have become concerned about material seeming “sexually explicit” they have seen children reading during this summer.

“I know we come from very diverse backgrounds, and to some people what is in these books will not phase them,” Myers said. “For others, their minds and hearts have been guarded against behaviors that not only affect their families but the entire community.”

Myers read a passage from a book she said was part of summer reading for students. She stopped short, saying it was embarrassing for her to read as an adult what was being read by “13- and 14-year-olds.”

“Our children deal with enough trauma,” she said. “We need to find them things to help them escape the tough times.”

Myers only expressed objections to the material seeming sexually explicit, and made no reference to any having political overtones.

“The reading series is being reviewed by Ohio County Schools administrators and teachers, and what they are working to determine is what content is age-level appropriate,” Superintendent Kim Miller said Friday. “As with any educational material, educators use books as a tool to deliver educational standards. Changes could be made, and material could be added or removed from any program if the content is found to be explicit, violent or simply inappropriate for students of a certain age or grade.

“Teachers often make changes to best serve the needs of the students. However, Ohio County Schools does not want to prevent teachers from sharing and discussing relevant material with students. Our goal is to make sure that students are emotionally mature enough for the material they are assigned to read,” Miller said.