Board committee recommends new textbook adoptions: McGraw Hill for ELA, HMH and Coherent Math, plus MAP Growth

District instructional leaders presented the results of a months‑long instructional materials review and recommended a set of textbook adoptions and associated diagnostics and supports to the Student Support Services committee.

Process and participation: The instructional materials advisory committees (iMAC) for ELA and math included teachers, instructional coaches, principals nominated from each attendance area, and district staff from EC, AIG, ESL and curriculum/instruction. Committees reviewed vendor proposals, scored materials on a rubric covering seven quality criteria (coherence, alignment, student supports, teacher supports, intentional design, cost and PD offerings), and narrowed finalists. The district hosted a textbook roadshow with physical and digital samples at 11 locations (one in each attendance area plus a central site) and invited public review via QR code and digital access. Presenters said recordings of vendor presentations were shared for stakeholders who could not attend.

Recommendations and costs: For grades 6–8 and grades 9–12 English language arts, the district recommended a two‑year adoption of McGraw Hill’s StudySync; reviewers gave StudySync the highest average scores in both grade spans and high percentages of reviewers who said they would recommend the product (88% for 6–8; 82% for 9–12). For grades K–8 math the district recommended a three‑year adoption of HMH’s IntoMath; the recommendation includes a three‑year subscription to the NWEA MAP Growth screener for grades K–8 to support placement and progress monitoring. The presenter said the MAP Growth subscription cost was included in the total and added roughly $1.2 million to the K–8 math package; the all‑in three‑year price cited for IntoMath plus MAP Growth was presented as roughly $4.3 million. For grades 9–12 math the district recommended a three‑year adoption of Coherent Math’s integrated high‑school sequence (a curriculum originally created for another large district and aligned to the state’s integrated standards).

Funding and next steps: Presenters said the purchases would come from state textbook funds allotments for instructional materials. The recommended contracts cover student and teacher digital access, consumable student workbooks, print and digital teacher editions, and initial on‑site professional development. Presenters emphasized that the PD outlines included in vendor proposals were baseline offerings; the district said it will negotiate and budget additional, system‑level professional development and coaching to support fidelity of implementation. Committee members and several board members stressed that professional development would be critical to realizing learning gains and urged administrators to be aggressive in funding and planning PD.

Board action and rationale: Committee members voted to recommend the adoptions and to proceed to contract and implementation planning. Presenters noted the timeline: secure purchases after board approval, develop a fuller PD and implementation plan in the spring, and finalize professional learning and evaluation supports before full rollout.

What the proposals do not yet specify: exact long‑term PD budgets and the final negotiated scope of ongoing vendor supports; those will be negotiated following adoption approval. Presenters said they will work with EC and other support teams to ensure materials and screeners meet needs of students with disabilities and other subgroups and to plan differentiated implementation supports.

Speakers: presenters included Dr. Perry (Academic & Instructional Systems), Craig Wilson (Instructional Materials and Resources facilitator), Dr. Catalano (K–12 instruction/curriculum) and other curriculum staff who led the iMAC process. Board members asked detailed questions about parent outreach, representation from every attendance area, and how materials would be adapted for low‑performing schools.

Votes at a glance - Recommend two‑year adoption of McGraw Hill StudySync (grades 6–12): committee recommendation approved. - Recommend three‑year adoption of HMH IntoMath (grades K–8) plus NWEA MAP Growth subscription: committee recommendation approved; total three‑year cost for K–8 package (including MAP Growth) presented at roughly $4.3 million. - Recommend three‑year adoption of Coherent Math (grades 9–12): committee recommendation approved.

Clarifying details - MAP Growth three‑year subscription cost presented in packet: approximately $1,200,000 (K–8 coverage). - IntoMath three‑year package including additional teacher prints and PD: total cited ≈ $4,300,000 (district figure inclusive of MAP Growth). - StudySync adoption presented as a two‑year package for grades 6–12 including consumables, digital access and initial on‑site PD; exact dollar totals for StudySync were provided in the procurement packet.

Why it matters: The recommended adoptions align the district to upcoming DPI timelines for new state standards and textbook adoptions, aim to provide K–12 coherence in math and ELA, and include a universal screener to inform instruction. The board and staff emphasized that successful outcomes will depend on funded, sustained professional development and tailored supports for schools with low teacher capacity.

Ending: If the full board approves the recommendations, staff will finalize purchases with vendors, build a detailed professional development plan tied to school needs, and report back to the board on implementation milestones.