Page County trustees recommend McGraw Hill for new English curriculum, plan FY27 purchase and training

Sarah Hamill, the division’s director of teaching and learning, told the Page County School Board on March 2 that a multi‑phase, teacher‑led review of English language arts materials resulted in a recommendation to adopt McGraw Hill materials.

"Ultimately, both groups ended up selecting the same vendor, McGraw Hill," Hamill said, describing a process that began in October and included principal recommendations, grade‑level committees, vendor demonstrations and sample reviews by teachers across buildings.

The recommendation follows a state shift to a high‑quality instructional materials (HQIM) standard tied to the Virginia Literacy Act and recent legislation expanding those requirements. Hamill said the division compared four initial elementary programs, narrowed to two finalists, and conducted broader school‑level reviews and surveys. She said more than 85 people across the division engaged in the review process.

Hamill told the board the elementary product is McGraw Hill Open Court and the secondary product is McGraw Hill StudySync. She said the adoption checks the division’s compliance box on state‑approved curricula for English language arts and that the district will pursue quotes and finalize pricing before submitting a purchase request for fiscal year 2027. "So from here, I'm working with the vendor to finalize the quote and pricing following this presentation," she said.

The division intends to buy materials in FY27 and to provide professional development and embedded coaching to support teachers. Hamill emphasized the need to get materials into teachers’ hands before the school year: "This is an FY '27 purchase. However, I need you to guarantee that this can be our reality ... so teachers can access materials before August." She described a PD model that includes full‑day training and on‑site coaching.

Board members asked about teacher review rubrics, budget fits, and what will happen to older materials; Hamill said the state’s HQIM model guided the review rather than the division’s older rubrics, and that some sample kits not selected were donated to local teacher‑preparation programs. On replacing existing texts, she said older curricula are largely five years old and do not meet state standards; resale value is unlikely, though some samples were donated to a nearby college’s education program.

The board did not take a final procurement vote at the meeting; Hamill said she will return with finalized pricing and procurement steps to follow the division’s procurement policies. Next steps listed were final quotes, procurement processing for FY27, and planning PD rollout for summer and the start of the school year.