Curriculum committee recommends HMH English program for high school after yearlong review

The curriculum and instruction committee of the Manitowoc School District voted to recommend the district adopt Harcourt/Macmillan (HMH) high-school English language arts materials, following a year-long review and a tenth-grade pilot of the program.

The recommendation came after staff presented samples from three vendors and reported that HMH best aligned with the district’s vertically aligned 9–12 Wisconsin state standards for English. Committee members heard that SpringBoard (College Board) will no longer be supported after this school year and that StudySync (McGraw Hill) was judged too all-digital and received negative feedback from nearby users.

Staff said the district ran a pilot at the tenth-grade level that included classroom sets for that grade, teacher materials, student consumables, access to the vendor’s digital textbook and writable online platform, and three one-hour training sessions plus virtual support. The pilot gave teachers and students full access to the materials that would be purchased if the program is approved. Committee members were told that the recommended purchase would provide classroom sets across grades 9–12, not a one-to-one device or textbook for every student.

A staff presenter said, “HMH was the best,” and described the program as aligned to the district’s standards and providing formative assessments to support professional learning communities (PLCs). Committee members noted the program’s features include plagiarism and AI checks, differentiation strategies, and supports for multilingual learners. The committee was also told that the materials include consumable paperback student books, teacher manuals, printable resources from the digital platform and an integration with the district’s existing writing curriculum.

Committee members discussed implementation details, including that classroom teachers would retain autonomy in instruction and that the program’s built-in formative assessments could help identify student skill gaps for targeted interventions. Staff said materials would be made available for a 30-day review period before the April board meeting, when a final recommendation and any purchase would be considered, subject to budget approval.

Committee member Chris moved to recommend approval of the high-school textbook and budgeting proposal; the motion was seconded and approved by the committee with no recorded opposition.

The committee also received progress updates on other grade bands: middle school teams continue to evaluate two ELA options (Into Literature and Amplify) and expect a decision soon; K–5 staff voted to recommend Being a Reader over CKLA but the K–5 recommendation will not be presented for final action until financials are available; 4K staff favored Seeds as their preferred preschool curriculum. Staff said remaining curriculum adoptions will include world language (grades 6–12) and high-school social studies.

The committee emphasized that a curriculum adoption is not a substitute for classroom instruction: one member said the curriculum “is not a curriculum that's going to save us” and that teacher practice remains the key factor in student outcomes.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve cross-country trip to Illinois: motion made and seconded; committee voted aye with no recorded opposition; outcome: approved. - Motion to approve a 17-day summer school trip to Spain for qualifying high school students (typically Spanish 3 and above): motion made and seconded; committee voted aye with no recorded opposition; outcome: approved. - Motion to recommend approval of the HMH high-school ELA textbook/curriculum and associated budget recommendation (to be finalized by the full board and contingent on budget): moved by Committee Member Chris; seconded; committee voted aye with no recorded opposition; outcome: recommended for board consideration.

Next steps Staff will provide the HMH materials to committee members and make them available for 30 days before the April board meeting, at which the board will hear the final recommendation and consider any purchase based on available budget. Middle-school and remaining discipline packages (world language and high-school social studies) will return to the committee for final recommendation.