Keystone Central SD staff: Bridges math teacher materials to be upgraded; no board approval required

Megan, a district staff member, told the Keystone Central SD board during the meeting that Bridges, the K–4 math curriculum used in the district, is transitioning to a third edition that requires new teacher materials but does not change student materials. "It doesn't require any board action or approval," Megan said, describing the item as informational.

Megan said the third-edition transition consists of teacher boxes that replace some assessment items from the second edition and add manipulatives and streamlined lesson plans to allow teachers to cover material more efficiently. "We had 15 teachers pilot it this fall, and, overwhelmingly, they said the improvements were amazing," she said, adding that pilots reported better assessment data and more instructional time.

District staff told the board they budgeted for the transition boxes in the current fiscal year "when we knew it was coming out and we knew we were gonna have some pilots," Megan said. She added that, in the staff and superintendent's reading of board policy, the teacher-materials purchase does not constitute new curriculum and therefore does not require formal board approval.

Board member Polly acknowledged the update and said she had no questions. A board member leading the meeting asked if anyone else had questions and, after none were raised, the item was closed as informational.

The presentation did not include a dollar amount for the teacher kits, nor did staff present a purchase order or vendor contract during the meeting. Staff described the change as limited to teacher materials and said student materials would remain the same under the third edition.

The board took no formal action on the item during the meeting; staff characterized the discussion as an informational update and indicated the purchase would proceed from budgeted funds unless the board directs otherwise at a future meeting.