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Manassas schools outline $2 million plan and timeline to adopt new math resources
Summary
District staff told the school board they plan to form a local adoption committee, review state-approved math resources over the summer, and seek school board approval in May 2026; staff estimated the adoption could cost about $2 million.
Deputy Superintendent Craig Feiler and Dr. Ed Stephenson, director of instruction, briefed the board on the timeline and process Manassas City Public Schools will use to adopt new primary mathematics curriculum resources aligned to recently revised Virginia standards. The presentation explained the state’s accelerated standards timeline and the district’s phased response: update local curriculum documents for 2024—25 and adopt a new primary math resource for the 2025—26 school year.
Dr. Stephenson said the state has approved multiple resources at each grade level and that the division now has between seven and 12 approved options to review at most grade spans. He proposed forming a Resource Adoption Committee in May that will include classroom and support teachers, math specialists and school and district leaders. The committee will solicit sample materials in summer, narrow options by November, open a public review in December—January, and forward a recommendation to the board in February. The board would take final action in May so purchases can be made in July ahead of the 2025—26 school year.
Stephenson estimated the total cost of materials and training for the adoption at approximately $2,000,000, funded from the division’s standard operating budget. He said professional learning was already underway in targeted areas such as math fluency and confirmed that training associated with any chosen resource would be reviewed and aligned with that ongoing work. The district plans to include ESOL and special-education teachers on the adoption committee, and time spent outside contract hours for committee work will be paid at an hourly rate.
Board members asked about access to sample materials, how the committee would be recruited and how the purchase timing would fit the fiscal year; staff said sample access would be made available digitally and in person, the committee recruitment would be division-wide and the purchase would be recorded in the FY 2027 purchasing cycle (purchase in July following approval). The current elementary math resource (Orgill/"Orgo" in transcript) did not appear on the state’s approved list, staff said, and they will compare new resources with the existing program during the review.
The board was given a multi-step timeline intended to provide teachers and the public a chance to review sample materials before a final recommendation.
