District 6 curriculum committee recommends HMH "Into Literature" and Writable for 9–12 English; 7-year contract totals $1.08 million

GREELEY, Colo. — Curriculum staff and a district committee recommended that Greeley-Evans School District 6 adopt HMH’s Into Literature paired with Writable as the high school English language arts curriculum for grades 9–12, presenting a three‑year implementation plan and a seven‑year licensing and materials package costing $1,082,354.47.

The recommendation was presented during the board’s May work session by district staff including the curriculum lead and English‑language arts coordinators. Nate Asmus and Dr. Megan Andrews described the committee process and Lisa McGee reviewed implementation supports, professional development and costs.

The committee selected the HMH product after narrowing five candidates through EdReports reviews, a locally adapted AIM rubric, classroom pilots and vendor demonstrations. “Our charge was to select and adopt a rigorous curriculum that offered opportunities for all of our learners to be successful,” Dr. Megan Andrews said, summarizing the selection criteria and the panel’s deliberations. The committee emphasized the need for resources that support multilingual learners, students receiving special education services, novice teachers and grade‑level expectations.

Why it matters: District staff said the adoption replaces the district’s prior high‑school ELA platform, which the vendor sold and which left the district without reliable access to the former platform’s materials. Staff said choosing a vendor with strong implementation supports and alignment to district assessment data — including connections to NWEA bands — was a priority to maintain continuity for instruction and assessment.

Key details

- Selection: The district committee recommended Into Literature (HMH) as the final selection, with Writable as the partner tool for student writing feedback and revision. As Dr. Andrews explained, Into Literature and Writable were selected after one finalist (StudySync) was eliminated for insufficient supports for novice teachers.

- Implementation and professional development: The vendor will provide a three‑year PD plan. Year 1 includes two on‑site implementation trainings and six two‑hour virtual training sessions, a one‑hour virtual leadership session for principals, and a Coachly license (on‑demand support) for each building. Year 2 continues coaching; Year 3 reduces vendor on‑site time and transitions leadership to teacher leaders identified by the district.

- Assessment and supports: Staff highlighted Writable’s capacity to give students timely, tailored feedback across planning, drafting and revising, and noted the program’s English/Spanish availability. HMH’s purchase of a nationally normed common assessment (NWEA) was described as an alignment benefit, enabling better crosswalks between assessment bands and curriculum skills.

- Cost and materials: The seven‑year package price presented to the board is $1,082,354.47. Staff said that amount covers teacher materials (including co‑teachers), student consumables for each year of the seven‑year contract, digital licenses and the vendor professional‑learning package. The set includes a one‑time purchase of novels that schools will catalog in their libraries (staff said novels will not be replenished annually), while consumable workbooks will be replenished annually.

- Equity and differentiation: Committee members noted the resource’s in‑platform scaffolding and the ability to tag student reading levels so lessons can adapt for multilingual learners and accelerate advanced students.

Committee and review process

District staff described a multi‑stakeholder process including high‑school teachers, administrators, multilingual and special‑education specialists, gifted‑and‑talented staff and teacher leaders. The process used EdReports as an initial screen, then the district AIM rubric for deeper review, classroom pilots in January and February, and vendor demos for the final candidates.

Questions from board members focused on implementation timing and teacher supports. Staff confirmed the district intends to begin implementation next school year and said Year 1 would be intensive on HMH coaching with a gradual transition to teacher‑led professional development.

What’s next

The recommendation will be presented again at the district’s business meeting later the same evening for a formal adoption vote. If approved, staff outlined a summer rollout and August curriculum day training for teachers.

Ending

Staff framed the adoption as replacing an older platform that the district lost access to and as an investment in professional learning and instructional alignment. Board members thanked the curriculum team for the review process and for involving classroom teachers in pilots.