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District to adopt Branching Minds, Amplify Desmos and TWIG training as part of fall instruction plans
Summary
Marple Newtown officials told the curriculum committee they plan to implement Branching Minds for MTSS across four elementary schools this fall, adopt Amplify Desmos math supports for middle and high schools and conduct STEALS training using the TWIG science curriculum.
Doctor Felya, presenting to the Marple Newtown School Board’s Curriculum, Instruction and Technology committee on June 10, outlined several curricular and instructional support initiatives the district plans to implement in the coming school year.
“We're asking for approval for a program with a vendor, called Branching Minds,” Doctor Felya said, describing the vendor as “a leader in the field of MTSS, which is multi tiered system of support.” He said the district will implement Branching Minds across the four elementary schools this fall.
From a secondary-math perspective, the district plans to bring in Amplify Desmos to support middle- and high-school students, Doctor Felya said. The committee also discussed STEALS science standards that Pennsylvania requires next year; the district selected the TWIG curriculum and is scheduling associated training sessions.
Felya described the Branching Minds implementation as “a tremendous amount of work” and said the vendor will assist the district “to do the heavy lifting” to move the MTSS initiative forward. The committee heard that teachers will receive training and that the initiative will roll out in the fall for elementary schools.
The committee also noted smaller items on the agenda: planned teacher trips (including a Best Buddies trip) and new volunteer high-school clubs for pickleball and photography. Those items were presented as routine program updates and faced no committee vote in the transcript.
Next steps: the district will bring vendor agreements, implementation timelines and training schedules to the board for approval as required. Committee discussion focused on program rollout and staff training; the transcript records the items as proposals and informational updates rather than completed contracts.
