Hermiston School Board adopts new health curriculum for K–12 after local review

The Hermiston School District 8 Board of Education voted unanimously May 12 to adopt updated health instructional materials for the 2025–26 school year: The Great Body Shop for kindergarten through grade 5; Goodheart‑Wilcox for grades 6–8; and Glencoe Health for grades 9–12, the latter by local (independent) adoption.

District administrators told the board the vote followed the state adoption process where few publishers submitted materials this cycle and that teacher and community review informed the final recommendations. Dr. Mooney said the recommendation before the board was to approve the three sets of materials and that the district had gathered staff input before making the recommendation.

Why it matters: health curriculum adoptions set what teachers use across classrooms and define a common instructional foundation. Staff said the district used the state’s approved lists where possible, supplemented by local evaluation for secondary material, and flagged gaps that the district will need to address (including statutory requirements and locally identified needs).

How the district evaluated options: District presenters described a multi‑step review. The state posts an approved list; the educational service district maintained sample copies so staff could inspect materials; district committees and teacher PLCs reviewed and rated options using a local evaluation tool tied to the IMET rubric (Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool). For elementary grades the district reported only one state‑approved publisher submitted materials; that publisher’s set matched the district’s current core materials and staff recommended continuing with updated editions.

For secondary grades, district reviewers narrowed candidates to Goodheart‑Wilcox and Human Kinetics at the middle school level and found only Human Kinetics listed for the state at the high school level. High‑school teachers having long experience with Glencoe (McGraw‑Hill/Glencoe Health) requested the district consider an independent adoption. District staff said they ran Glencoe through the same local evaluation process, identified gaps that would need planned supplementation (including materials and local pacing to meet Oregon requirements), and concluded Glencoe provided the mix of print and digital resources their teachers preferred for grades 9–12.

Administrators also flagged statutory and policy constraints that affected the review. They noted Oregon’s adoption expectations and cited the need to ensure required instruction — for example, the district’s obligations under state guidance for child‑abuse prevention instruction (commonly referred to as Aaron’s Law in public discussion) — is covered across grade levels. Staff said any identified gaps would be met through planned district supplements and professional development tied to the new adoption.

Board discussion focused on the limited pool of state‑approved materials this year, the advantages of the digital tools publishers now provide, and the district’s plan to supplement where the chosen texts do not fully align with Oregon requirements. After questions from board members and brief public discussion, a board member moved to adopt the recommended materials and another board member seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

What the district will do next: district staff said they will purchase classroom‑set hard copies and student digital licenses as needed, plan teacher orientation and professional learning for the new materials, and document any supplemental lessons required to meet state mandates and district priorities.