Carson City schools choose Skillstruck Launchpad as recommended elementary computer-science curriculum

Superintendent Fillion and district curriculum leaders told the Board of Trustees that Carson City School District staff reviewed three state-approved elementary computer-science programs and are recommending Skillstruck Launchpad as the district’s core curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade.

District K–12 electives and computer-science coordinator Rhonda Wallace said the district evaluated the materials for teacher accessibility, equity and content alignment with Nevada standards. "We looked at teacher support ... supplemental materials, data privacy and ownership," Wallace said. The team also checked vertical alignment from kindergarten through high school and the availability of formative and summative assessments.

Nut graf: The recommendation follows a multi-week review and public display of a demo. Staff said the purchase is already budgeted and that they plan to negotiate a multi-year contract and provide professional learning before the school year starts so teachers can implement the curriculum districtwide.

Teachers and site representatives on the review team described classroom advantages they saw in Skillstruck. Irene Waltz, a site computer-science teacher, said the product demonstrated accessibility features and a teacher dashboard that staff found easy to use. "It’s very safe and secure; it meets COPPA, CIPA and FERPA compliance," Waltz said. Reviewers also noted an auto-grader, progress trackers, a playground for enrichment and built-in rubrics and assessments.

Teacher Adrienne Wiggins described links to mathematics and literacy skills and cited impact data the vendor provided: the vendor’s impact report followed students who grew on MAP and projected SBAC improvements after a year of use. Wiggins said the program’s lessons pair reading with applied coding tasks so students practice both comprehension and coding concepts.

Staff said they posted a district demo and advertised a two-week public review period; no public comments were submitted during the posted review. Curriculum staff asked the board for feedback before district purchasing and negotiation. Tasha Fuson, executive director of educational services, said the district’s budget includes funds for the adoption and that a three-year contract is being considered because the state’s approved-instructional-materials list is scheduled for review every three years.

Discussion items included equity and accessibility for multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Teachers on the review team said Skillstruck’s accessibility tools and translation options would help standardize instruction across schools that currently have uneven local resources. Reviewers also told the board the vendor expressed willingness to provide a districtwide family engagement event and local training.

Ending: The item was presented as discussion only; the district said staff will enter negotiations with Skillstruck and return with procurement paperwork as required. No formal board action was taken at the meeting.