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Board backs state-approved social-studies materials; committee recommends Analytic Orange for elementary purchase
Summary
Following the Alabama State Boards approval of a state materials list, Madison County Schoolslocal committee recommended Analytic Orange for K— purchase at grades 3—, McGraw Hill for grades 6—, and HMH for high school; the board scheduled April action and approved multiple consent items including finance, bids and personnel.
Madison County Schoolsboard members reviewed and moved forward with committee recommendations for new social studies and arts education materials after the Alabama State Board of Education approved a statewide list on March 12.
Matt Rogers, presenting academic items, said a local adoption committee of 41 members (28 teacher representatives, six community stakeholders and seven district representatives) had reviewed state-submitted samples and ranked top choices by grade band. The committees top selections all passed the state textbook review (state score minimum 75), Rogers said, and he recommended the board adopt the local committees top choices at the boards April meeting.
For elementary grades K— the committee favored Analytic Orange, a Florida-based publisher whose materials were built specifically for Alabama standards according to the committee. Rogers recommended purchasing Analytic Orange for grades 3— only—leaving K' in place on state-supplied supplemental resources because teachers reported limited instructional time for full textbook implementation at those early grades.
For grades 6— the committee recommended McGraw Hill; for high school the leading choice was HMH (with McGraw Hill and Savis also strongly represented among teacher preferences). Rogers noted the committees scores were robust (the lowest reported score was in the mid-80s) and that the state process includes multiple review tiers before local adoption.
The board also approved a slate of consent items by voice vote at the March 12 meeting: an amendment to the academic guide to include cybersecurity, the January 2026 financial statements and payments, bids and contracts as submitted, personnel actions, and a supplemental contract. The board approved the Monrovia Elementary HVAC replacement recommendation (pending attorney review) earlier in the meeting as well.
During public comment, parent Whitney Daly urged compassion in residency enforcement after her son was withdrawn from Spartman High School over residency documentation issues and asked the board to "please allow my son back into the school so that way he can continue his education without any further interruptions."
