Board hears recommendation to adopt new social studies materials; mixed grade-level choices including McGraw Hill and Gallopade

The Upshur County Board of Education heard a recommendation from a curriculum committee to adopt several new social studies instructional resources across grade levels and subject areas.

Curriculum presenter (S7) described a review process that included teachers who attended a January caravan, vendor demonstrations and application of the state-approved evaluation criteria. "We invited several companies, publishing companies to come in, present their resources to the group, and, started to evaluate their resources and use the state approved criteria to evaluate those," the presenter said.

Committee recommendations included McGraw Hill for U.S. studies, world studies, contemporary civics, AP government and AP history; Gallopade was recommended for West Virginia history; and Cengage/National Geographic was recommended for fifth grade in the elementary sequence where not many K–5 options existed.

Board members asked whether materials would be consumable and how many hardcovers would be provided. The presenter said elementary materials are mostly consumable (students may write in them), fifth graders will receive a hardcover textbook and middle/high school options include hardcovers alongside digital components and workbooks.

Why it matters: instructional-material adoptions shape classroom content and budget needs for textbook purchases and digital licenses. The presenter said the committee aimed for rigor and alignment; in one case a k–5 option did not meet the committee's standards, prompting a different choice for fifth grade while K–4 went with a single resource.

No final adoption vote was recorded in the transcript; the presenter said paperwork will be submitted to the state Department of Education for final approval once the superintendent and staff finalize the selections.