Committee approves 30-day public review of Savvas middle school social studies materials

The Instruction Committee of the Manitowoc School District voted to place Savvas middle school social studies materials on a 30-day public review and forward the recommendation to the full school board for adoption at the March meeting.

Ben Henry, social studies department chair, told the committee the recommended Savvas program is designed to “cultivate curiosity, critical thinking, and deep understanding of the world,” and that the district chose Savvas after piloting other vendors. He said the program pairs physical textbooks with online resources and includes project-based learning “quests,” differentiated assessment options and an optional civics component that could be used for enrichment.

Under the proposed scope, sixth grade would use a world history course, seventh grade would use world geography and eighth grade would use a U.S. history course; Henry said the eighth-grade course as taught in the district would cover early U.S. history through the Jacksonian era, while the Savvas resource itself extends through the modern era. He also noted teachers would have both physical and digital access to materials and that the vendor’s platform offers short formative checks (example: five-question, end-of-lesson checks) that the district can adapt.

Committee members asked about prior pilots and alternatives; Henry said the district had piloted HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) before narrowing choices. The committee also discussed how the program addresses literacy skills in content-area texts and the presence of diversity, equity and inclusion material on the vendor’s website; Henry and committee members said they found the classroom materials to be factual and said the physical materials would be available for review.

A motion to place the materials on a 30-day public review and forward the item to the full board was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee chair called for the vote and members responded “aye.” The materials will be available for public inspection during the review period and returned to the full board for a formal adoption vote in March.