The David Douglas School Board voted to adopt new elementary and high school science instructional programs on June 12, approving district purchases not to exceed $710,000 for Twig Science (elementary) and $310,000 for McGraw Hill Inspire Science (high school).

Board action followed a multi-year adoption process and classroom pilots. Carrie Foster, K–12 curriculum coordinator, told the board the district completed a two-year adoption and that elementary and high-school teams had reached a recommendation after “decision day” and pilot feedback.

Nut graf: The change replaces instructional materials the district said were older and aims to increase hands-on, inquiry-based learning across grades K–12. District staff said the adoptions were chosen for research-based instructional design, equity supports, and classroom usability observed during teacher pilots.

Teachers and publisher representatives described how the programs met the district's stated priorities. Angela Greggridge, an Imagine Learning representative, said Twig Science centers lessons on investigation and provides teacher supports and language routines developed with Stanford SCALE to make inquiry accessible to multilingual learners. Elementary pilot teacher Marcek Hizaka said the program was straightforward to prepare and praised student engagement and the program's built-in visuals, sentence frames and talk routines.

High-school teachers and McGraw Hill representatives described Inspire Science as phenomena-driven, designed to build science literacy through hands-on labs, simulations and leveled reading supports. Biology teacher Scott Dosa said the program's graphic organizers and physical textbooks helped students access material and supported the district's literacy goals.

Board members and staff discussed supports for students with special education needs and English learners. McGraw Hill staff described online "Learn Smart" adaptive reading tools and leveled readers that can be set to lower Lexile levels and can be assigned per student account; they said roster settings can be adjusted when students have an IEP or 504 plan.

The board approved the motion to adopt both programs. Director roll call during the final vote recorded "Stevens, I; Commissioner Derson, I; Franklin, I; Helena Lopez, aye; Ender, aye," after which the chair announced the adoption. The adoption will be implemented with professional learning and publisher-supported teacher preparation this summer.

Ending: District staff said materials and professional learning schedules will be shared with schools over the summer so teachers can prepare for the 2025–26 school year.