Board holds first reading on physical‑science adoption; staff recommend Concepts in Action with Elevate supplemental access

The board received a first reading April 28 on recommended materials for the district’s newly restored physical‑science freshman course. A teacher adoption team recommended purchasing a limited number of hardcover Concepts in Action textbooks for classroom sets, along with district‑licensed online access to the Elevate platform and a recurring purchase of consumable Elevate workbooks for students who need a lower reading level.

Why the adoption is happening now District staff said physical science returned to the freshman sequence for 2023–24 and teachers found existing resources did not meet the course’s needs. A three‑teacher pilot team—including a teacher who serves students with disabilities—used the Ohio Department of Education high‑quality instructional materials rubric to score two candidate resources: Concepts in Action (textbook) and Elevate (module/platform drawn from a 6–8 series). The team concluded Concepts in Action “met expectations” for alignment and Elevate “met expectations” for being more current and having quarterly updates; gateway review results and rubric scores were included in the agenda materials.

Recommendation and costs The team’s recommendation: purchase a limited number of Concepts in Action hard copies so four classrooms could each have sets of 30 copies; purchase district online access to the Concepts in Action EasyBridge platform for all students; also purchase district online access to the Elevate platform for the same seven‑year license term and buy 30 consumable Elevate workbooks each year for students who need more accessible reading level materials. The team presented a total 7‑year cost estimate of about $38,641 and calculated that cost at roughly $22 per student over seven years, based on the district’s projected cohort size.

Trustee questions and concerns Trustees questioned several points before a second reading: who will vet content updates on the Elevate online platform when vendors update materials quarterly, how the district would ensure compliance with House Bill 29 and other state rules for instructional materials, and which publisher owns Concepts in Action (trustees raised concerns about vendor credibility and asked staff to confirm publisher ownership). Trustees also asked what “diverse” meant regarding videos and online content; staff said they would provide details on the nature of that diversity and confirm vendor ownership and update processes before future readings.

Process and next steps This was a first reading. Staff said the district followed the board’s textbook adoption policy and used the state rubric; the curriculum supervisor said the adoption team documented evidence and pilot feedback in the agenda packet. Trustees asked staff to return with clarifications about vendor ownership, the process for reviewing vendor updates to online content (including compliance with state law), and a plan for teacher and student access if the district adopts the materials.

Ending The board will consider the recommendation at a subsequent reading after staff have provided the requested vendor, content‑update and compliance details.