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Bay Shore UFSD reviews AP precalculus textbook and IB English selection
Summary
District staff presented two textbook requests — a new AP precalculus text aligned to an upcoming course and the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns for IB English — and described enrollment, curriculum alignment and review processes; no formal approval vote on the books appears in the transcript.
A curriculum staff member presented two textbook requests at a Bay Shore Union Free School District work-session meeting: a new AP precalculus textbook for a course launching next year, and the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns for the district's IB English program.
The curriculum staff member said the AP precalculus course is new and currently has "approximately 60 requests for the course," and that the proposed textbook (dated 02/2024) is intended for grades 11 and 12 and "directly aligns with the precalculus curriculum." The presenter said the book emphasizes functions (polynomial, rational, exponential), multiple representations (graphical, numerical, algebraic and verbal) and includes technology integration with GeoGebra compatible with Chromebooks.
The staff member described the IB English request as the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and said the text was chosen to support IB English goals by fostering global awareness and interdisciplinary connections. The presenter characterized the novel as following two Afghan women across decades of conflict and said it addresses themes such as motherhood, gender roles and resilience. The staff member said the IB English program is typically run as a two-year course and estimated "about 40 to 60 kids per year" take the class.
Board members asked about potential student reactions to the book's content and how distress would be handled. One board member asked whether students who became noticeably distressed would be addressed; the presenter replied that such concerns would be handled, noting the book can be "very real" and "heart wrenching." Another board member asked whether the department covers U.S. history and other domestic texts alongside international works; the presenter said the curriculum includes both U.S. and international authors and mentioned other texts (for example, Things They Carried) used at different grade levels.
A district staff member described how texts are selected and reviewed: the meeting record shows that at each grade level the district maintains core texts every student reads, plus a list of supplemental texts that meet New York State literacy standards. The presenter said teachers have latitude to supplement materials and that the curriculum and texts are reviewed annually by the English teachers and a reviewing body.
The transcript records the board moving into a work session at the start of this portion of the meeting, and the presentation of the two textbook requests and related discussion, but it does not record a formal motion or vote approving either textbook in the excerpt provided. The session then prepared to move to a separate demonstration of recently purchased tables in the district library.
