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Parkrose staff outline six‑year curriculum cycle, pilots and professional‑development plans
Summary
District staff described a multi‑phase curriculum adoption process—screening, piloting, professional development—and a roughly six‑year rotation for subject adoptions; math adoption for secondary grades is still underway with pilot work planned.
District staff described the Parkrose SD 3 curriculum‑adoption process at the work session, laying out a multi‑phase approach that screens vendor materials, pilots selected units with teachers and students, and funds professional development for full implementation.
The process: staff said they form a District Curriculum Adoption Committee (DCAC) made up of district and building‑level teachers and content experts; use state resources (ODE and MESB) and vendor caravans for initial screening; narrow materials to one to three candidate curricula; pilot units in classrooms and survey students and teachers; then present a recommended adoption to the board for approval followed by purchases and professional development.
Timeline and examples: staff said Parkrose runs a roughly six‑year rotation; math adoption work for grades 6–12 has taken nearly two years. The high school has used an “independent adoption” approach while the district tested Amplify and Desmos as potential secondary math curricula. Science, health and world‑language adoption windows were shown on a multi‑year slide, with health targeted for 2026 and social studies in a subsequent year.
Budget and constraints: staff and the superintendent told the board that curriculum materials are expensive and the district often negotiates multi‑year payment plans with publishers. Board members asked about workbook usage and costs; staff said past analysis showed only about 15% of workbooks were actually used in some adoptions and this shaped future purchasing decisions.
Why it matters: staff emphasized that pilot phases include student feedback on representation, readability and barriers, and that the district tries to learn from nearby larger districts’ early adoption experiences. Board members asked for more time to evaluate neighboring districts’ outcomes before implementation and for clearer cost implications to be included in future adoption packets.
Next steps: staff said recommended materials and associated professional development will be brought back to the board after screening and pilot phases are complete, and that district leaders are planning for multi‑year budgeting of adoption costs rather than single‑year purchases.
