A committee of fourth grade teachers in western Colorado spent months this past school year reviewing potential social studies curriculums. The one they chose was written by Colorado historians and is widely used in schools across the state. But in April, the school board in Mesa County Valley District 51, a 20,000-student district based in Grand Junction, rejected that curriculum, called “Colorado Story.” Some board members felt its mention of the Black Lives Matter movement was not age appropriate and that it portrayed historical figures such as Christopher Columbus in a negative light, among other concerns.
