District recommends Twig and McGraw Hill in science adoption; materials estimated at $1.1 million

The Forest Grove School District 15 curriculum leadership team recommended Twig (elementary) and McGraw Hill (secondary) as the preferred instructional materials in the district’s K–12 science adoption and asked the board to approve the purchase plan to begin phased implementation.

Arturo Mollie, director of teaching and learning, said more than 30 staff members — teachers, instructional coaches and department heads — piloted candidate programs and evaluated them against district priorities including NGSS alignment, supports for English learners and dual language programs, and hands‑on performance tasks. “We felt the K‑12 alignment and multilingual supports in Twig and the accessible, hands‑on approach of McGraw Hill best matched our needs,” Mollie said.

Elementary implementation would be phased: a partial K–4 rollout with selected teachers next year to allow time for report‑card alignment and scheduling adjustments; full implementation in grades 5–12 and a full high‑school rollout were proposed for the coming fall for secondary. Staff flagged scheduling pressures at the elementary level — existing literacy, math and physical‑education minute targets create time constraints that the district will need to address.

The estimated materials cost for the adoption was $1,100,000 (materials only); staff said additional professional‑learning costs are expected and will be presented separately. The district plans training this summer for staff in grades 5–12 and ongoing support during the first year of implementation.

No formal purchase resolution was recorded that night; staff said they will bring formal purchase requests and detailed professional‑learning cost estimates to a subsequent meeting.