Board gets first reading for Somos Spanish curriculum after teacher and student pilots

John Helwick and classroom teachers presented a first reading recommending Somos for Spanish 1 and 2 instruction across the district. The selection followed district screening, fall pilots, and surveys of teachers and students: teachers and students favored Somos, with teachers citing comprehensive, scaffolded stories and regular updates from the curriculum developer.

Teachers who piloted the curriculum described it as emphasizing comprehensible input and storytelling that drives student engagement and supports reading, writing and spoken output. Kaylee Haynes, a Peninsula High School Spanish teacher, said students are more able to 'read, write, understand, and speak' Spanish using the curriculum's scaffolded approach.

The curriculum is primarily digital (initial license costs presented; the district reported a lifetime license model that reduces long‑term textbook replacement costs). Staff estimated initial licensing plus supplements and an annual workbook cost (presented figures: about $105,000 initial licenses and about $25,000 annual workbooks, combined in district estimates) and said a formal adoption vote will be scheduled on the April agenda. Parents were surveyed (≈100 respondents) and showed no strong district‑wide preference; teacher and student feedback drove the recommendation.

Board members asked about differences from traditional grammar‑first instruction and whether the curriculum aligns with advanced/honors offerings; teachers said the comprehensive‑input approach prepares students for more rigorous university‑level offerings when vocabulary and output demands increase later in the sequence.

This was a first reading; no adoption vote was taken at the meeting.