Like most school systems, South Bend Community schools stopped teaching cursive handwriting around the time that the state of Indiana removed it as a required course in 2010.
But cursive is coming back to South Bend.
At Wednesday's South Bend Community School Corporation board meeting, a proposal to add cursive writing to the curriculum sparked enthusiastic support from the community.
Several residents voiced their reasons for its importance. Deborah Riley, retired after teaching 25 years in the corporation, spoke about how learning cursive helps children develop hand-eye coordination.
"It’s a skill that’s valuable, especially for younger kids,” Riley said. "Cursive needs to be taught."
Another speaker highlighted the importance of cursive in understanding historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence.
“Many of our nation’s historical documents are written in cursive. Students need to be able to read them,” the speaker said.
As the board discussed a motion to add cursive to the 2025-26 school year curriculum, board member Kate Lee turned to the teachers in attendance, asking if they supporting the idea, and if they have the time in their day for it.
“Do you guys want to teach cursive?” Lee asked.
"Yeah!" they replied.
The board then unanimously approved the proposal.
