Waco ISD board approves Great Minds Bluebonnet, Carnegie as primary K–12 math resources

The Waco Independent School District Board of Trustees voted on May 20 to adopt a new set of primary K–12 math instructional resources, approving Great Minds (Bluebonnet) for grades K–5 and Carnegie Learning for grades 6–12 as the district's primary math curriculum after an 11-year adoption cycle.

The board approved the recommendation to purchase the two resources following a district- and campus-level review process that included vendor demonstrations, teacher pilot sessions and rubric scoring. The administration said the combined cost of the initial adoption is roughly $1,024,000; district staff told trustees that available Instructional Materials Allotment (IMA) funds could cover part of the purchase while leaving roughly $817,000 in IMA funds on hand for other needs.

Why this matters: The new resources are intended to replace an older math program the district says required substantial teacher supplementation. Administrators and teachers said the new materials aim to strengthen teachers' tier‑1 instruction, provide clearer scope and sequence, and include supports for conceptual understanding and Spanish-language materials for elementary students.

District process and teacher input

District curriculum staff led a multi-stage vetting process that began with a Region 12 symposium where vendors showcased materials, followed by district presentations and a rubric-based review derived from the State Board of Education's instructional materials rubric. Curriculum staff said district reviewers rated vendors on a 1-to-4 scale across multiple categories; those ratings were combined and used to select resources for campus review.

Campus committees then reviewed digital demo accounts, printed samples and lesson materials, using the same rubric and an additional…