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RCSD presents new high-school science curricula after district pilots
Summary
Rochester City School District officials presented recommended high-school physics and chemistry curricula — PURE Physics and Activate Learning — after a multi-phase review and small pilot across five schools; board members pressed for details on student preparation and professional development.
The Rochester City School District presented high-school science curriculum recommendations on June 10, proposing PURE Physics for physics and Activate Learning for chemistry following a multi-phase vendor review and classroom pilots.
District leaders said the selection began in summer and fall 2024 with an RFP and then moved through two further review phases that included staff, administrators and students. Officials described a three-month rubric-driven evaluation that narrowed vendors to those meeting phase-1 criteria and resulted in the pilot choices.
Dr. Ramos, who led the presentation, said the district is shifting to the New York State Science Learning Standards’ inquiry-based model, in which students investigate phenomena and teachers act as facilitators. “One of the biggest changes of the next generation standards is that students become the sense makers of everything,” Ramos said. He told commissioners that the district intentionally piloted materials to see how they worked in classrooms and that the curricula emphasize students posing and solving problems rather than following lengthy directions.
District staff said the pilot ran in a small set of classes at Monroe High School, Padilla, Edison, World of Inquiry School and Wilson, and yielded 32 student survey responses. Officials acknowledged the sample was small and said the district plans additional focus groups and outreach to gather broader student voice during actual implementation.
Dr. Sean Coffey, Executive Director of Science, joined Ramos for questions. When Commissioner Elliott asked whether the state requires “inquiry-based” teaching, Coffey said New York’s standards are structured so that inquiry is central; he added that the curricula selected are explicit about teaching the practices of science. Elliott and other board members pressed district leaders on how the system is preparing students and teachers for the new approach. Coffey and Ramos described ongoing professional development this year, building of classroom models, school-level coaches and teacher leaders, planned summer work to bridge training into classroom practice, and in-year coaching with walkthroughs and common-assessment data to monitor fidelity.
The presenters said the chemistry materials from Activate Learning will be available in more than 100 languages and PURE Physics offers Spanish-language and translation functions. Board members asked for clearer documentation of student preparedness for inquiry-style learning; the district acknowledged it is at an early stage and will monitor outcomes as the new standards and curriculum are implemented.
Parent representative Monica Graham had no questions during the presentation but later encouraged families to review materials the district posted on BoardDocs and to raise questions through school leaders or parent advisory groups.
District leaders said they will make curriculum materials available through Teaching and Learning, run summer professional development, schedule in-class visits for coaching, and organize teacher and student focus groups during rollout. They reiterated that the district had aligned the K–10 and middle-school sequences (Amplify and OpenSciEd/STEMscopes at earlier grades) so students encountering the high-school curricula have had scaffolded experiences.
Board members and staff emphasized that implementation, documentation and monitoring will continue to be priorities; several asked staff to return with more data on pilot participation, student voice and professional-development timelines before full classroom rollout.
