Indian Prairie School District 204 is moving toward teaching U.S. History not solely in chronological order, but organized around four key themes to make the story of America’s past more relevant.

U.S. History is one of two high school courses proposed to be updated for the 2026-27 school year, along with French 3. Administrators shared details with the school board during Monday’s meeting , saying the proposed updates will align these courses with state standards and district goals for student achievement.

Thematic approach to American history

For U.S. History, “fairly large revisions were made,” for the first time in about a decade, since course updates were delayed during COVID, said Michael Purcell, the district’s director of high school curriculum.

Aside from aligning lessons to

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