Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K12 Math Adoption topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charleston district backs math pathway change and recommends K–12 textbook packages for adoption
Summary
District leaders described the state-directed shift to a geometry-with-statistics entry for accelerated students and presented a multi-publisher recommendation for K–12 math textbooks; the board moved the adoption to the consent agenda for the April 7 special-called meeting.
District instructional leaders on April 7 outlined a statewide-aligned change to the high-school mathematics sequence and recommended a package of K–12 textbooks intended to support the new pathway.
The change: The South Carolina college-and-career-ready mathematics pathway adopted in 2023 moves geometry-with-statistics earlier in the sequence for accelerated students so spatial and conceptual reasoning come before some abstract algebra. District staff said the pathway is intended to improve students’ conceptual understanding and better prepare them for varied postsecondary goals.
Why this matters: The pathway and textbook adoption will affect curriculum, teacher preparation and assessments across the district and requires sustained professional development for classroom and school-based coaches to implement the conceptual shift.
Doctor Clamp, instructional leader, summarized the rationale: geometry-with-statistics “is a great foundation and preparation to understand and apply in those abstract experiences that’ll happen in algebra 1,” and described the statewide effort to align standards and course sequencing. Miss Simmons, the district instructional lead on the adoption, described a year-long process that included teacher vetting, district specialist review and community stakeholder feedback.
Textbook recommendations: After a multi-stage review, staff recommended these primary titles for board approval and adoption planning: - K–5: Eureka Math Squared (elementary) - Middle grades: McGraw Hill (middle school materials selected for vertical alignment with the elementary package) - High school: Geometry — Math Nation (Accelerate Learning); Algebra II — EnVision (Savvas); Precalculus/Calculus — Cengage (National Geographic Learning) - Additional high-school courses: Savas and BW Welch titles for reasoning, applications and modeling; Cengage and Bedford titles for statistics and AP statistics
Implementation and professional development: Leaders said the heavy lift will be professional learning, including a multi-modal rollout (in-person, synchronous and asynchronous) and new unit- and lesson-internalization work. The district plans to bring in an external expert, Beth Hobert (cofounder of OGAP), to support mathematics instruction across the system. Staff told trustees they will phase onboarding so teachers can begin using the materials in August with ongoing support.
Board action: Trustees voted to move the textbook adoption recommendation to the special-called April 7 consent agenda after the committee meeting; staff said that would allow local textbook coordinators to begin preorders before spring break and the instructional team to schedule summer professional development.
Ending: With the board’s referral, the adoption recommendation will appear on the April 7 agenda; if approved by the board, staff will begin the multi-year teacher training and implementation schedule ahead of the 2025–26 school year.
