Board hears recommendation to adopt English 3D curriculum for English learners

Charles County Public Schools staff asked the Board of Education on April 8 to approve purchase of English 3D, a K'12 English language development (ELD) curriculum from HMH, after a structured review and pilot by English learner teachers and community reviewers.

Autumn Hoffman and Kevin Lowndes explained the selection process, saying ELD materials must support multiple proficiency levels within each grade and align to WIDA and Maryland standards. Hoffman, ELD lead, said the district piloted three vendors and evaluated them on a rubric that included alignment to standards, multiple entry points and supports for newcomers and students with interrupted formal education.

"The program that we selected through that process is English 3D, which is through HMH," Hoffman said. "It is based on the standards, the WIDA standards. It does span all grades K through 12 and all of the proficiency levels. It does have specific elements for our 3 subgroups, newcomers, long term MLs and students with limited or interrupted formal education." She said the selected program offers both print and digital resources so recently arrived students who lack experience with devices can begin on printed materials and transition to online tools.

Staff told trustees that 22 ELD teachers piloted materials and more than 20 students provided survey feedback; a single parent representative also participated in the review because district staff said many families of multilingual students need language access to review materials. Hoffman said teacher and student reviewers praised the program''teachers noted the range of proficiencies covered and families described lessons as well structured.

Board members asked about parent engagement and safeguards for students with disabilities. Vice Chair Kramer and others urged the district to provide translated review materials and to include special education staff in curriculum review. Hoffman said the district will post materials for a 30-day public review and will solicit feedback from bilingual parent groups and special education stakeholders.

Superintendent Navarro clarified the curriculum would be a supplement for students' ELD instruction while students continue to receive grade-level core instruction in their content classrooms. "These materials are just for the time the students are with their ESOL ELD teacher, not something that they will be doing instead of the content in the classroom," Navarro said.

The board did not take a purchase vote at the April 8 meeting; staff said they will proceed with the public review period and return with a recommendation for formal approval after the public comment window.

Sources: Presentation by ELD instructional staff and question-and-answer session at the April 8, 2025 Charles County Board of Education meeting.