Jordan child-development program selects Frog Street curriculum for district preschools

Christy Whiteside, program director for the district's special-education preschool services, told the Board of Education the district's preschool curriculum review committee evaluated six vendors and selected Frog Street Press as the recommended primary curriculum for the district's 3-to-5 preschool services.

Whiteside said Frog Street is a standalone, comprehensive program that "encompasses all of our state standards for early child early learning," includes a clear scope and sequence, weekly lesson plans, strategies for multilingual and special-education students, and both physical and digital assessment and family-engagement tools.

Why it matters: The recommendation affects the special-education preschool classes offered in elementary schools across the district (not the high-school-based preschool classes). Whiteside said the selection is intended to give teachers consistent lesson plans, better data tools for PLCs, and family materials to support learning at home.

Key details and next steps: The staff team that reviewed vendors included preschool teachers, speech-language pathologists and instructional coaches. Whiteside gave enrollment and program counts: the district has about 36 preschool sites (32 elementary campuses hosting classes) and currently about 1,500 preschool students with roughly 800 typically developing peers enrolled for the coming year. She said staff plan an in-person open house and online access for families; staff hoped to return to the board with a recommendation as soon as May 27 for possible action.

No vote occurred at the study session. Staff said they will invite feedback at the open house and return to the board for formal consideration.