The Educational Programs & Resources committee of the East Stroudsburg Area School District spent much of its Dec. 4 meeting outlining a formal purpose that centers on curriculum oversight and transparency.

The committee chair opened the discussion by summarizing board-suggested responsibilities for EPR, saying the committee should ‘‘do a deep dive into district programs, to understand the programs and the curriculum from a K to 12 perspective’’ and ‘‘approve books and programs to align with community values.’’ The chair also listed data analysis of student progress and review of purchases that could alarm stakeholders as committee duties.

Committee members responded by emphasizing public access and regular updates. One member said the district should ‘‘have the ability to Zoom in or watch later on YouTube’’ and recommended monthly teacher presentations and a newsletter so the public can follow curriculum development. Another member praised the pace of recent curriculum work and suggested consolidating resource approval under one action—‘‘approve the high-quality instructional materials’’—to make roles clearer.

The conversation repeatedly returned to transparency as a tool to build trust. Staff described how the district is documenting work and sharing it with teachers and administrators, and committee members asked that links and materials be circulated in advance so the full board can review them before formal votes.

Procedurally, the committee approved the meeting agenda at the start of the session. No formal action to adopt a committee-purpose statement was recorded at this meeting; staff said they would draft a purpose statement for the committee to consider at a future meeting.

The committee directed staff to continue posting and sharing draft materials and to bring a proposed purpose statement to the next meeting so board members can formally confirm the committee’s role.