Board approves Handwriting Without Tears curriculum for elementary grades; district official says teachers recommended continuation

The Amador County Unified School District board unanimously approved adoption of the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum to provide a consistent approach to handwriting and fine‑motor instruction across elementary classrooms.

Special education teacher and curriculum lead Jenny DeWalt described the program’s occupational‑therapy roots and said the curriculum uses manipulatives and a progression of shapes that precede pencil use. “Handwriting Without Tears was actually originally developed by occupational therapists,” DeWalt said. She told trustees the program had been piloted with state preschool, TK and kindergarten classrooms and that a district survey of teachers who had used the program returned a 100% recommendation to continue.

Cost and funding: DeWalt told trustees the initial purchase price for the district was $34,401.98 for class sets and consumable student workbooks; teachers’ materials are non‑consumable. Trustees were told the full purchase would not be an ongoing $34,000 annual cost because student consumables will be the primary recurring expense.

Board action: After questions about digital components and whether handwriting instruction would require student device work (DeWalt said it would not), a trustee moved and the board voted to adopt the curriculum. At roll call the transcript records that trustees voted yes (no roll‑call names were given in the vote readout beyond the standard roll call sequence used in other agenda items); the motion passed.

Ending: District staff said the three‑year rollout and professional development tied to the adoption aim to give teachers continuity and reduce the burden on individual teachers to design their own handwriting instruction.