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Huntley 158 puts honors science and middle school social studies materials on 30-day review
Summary
District officials presented six-year adoption proposals for honors high-school science materials (McGraw Hill) and renewed middle-school social studies resources, asking the board to place both on 30-day review ahead of final votes in May.
The Huntley Community School District 158 Committee of the Whole on April 2 voted to move proposed curriculum materials for further review.
Dr. Mcindle told the committee the district seeks a six-year subscription to McGraw Hill honors-level science materials for honors biology, chemistry and physics, noting digital updates, new videos and additional hands-on labs; the total cost cited for the subscription was $108,633. Administrators said teachers selected the resources and plan to implement curriculum maps and assessments this fall following the 30-day public-review period.
The committee also reviewed a recommendation to renew middle-school social studies materials: National Geographic for sixth grade and McGraw Hill for seventh and eighth. Administrators said the materials support disciplinary literacy work ("reading like a historian," evaluating sources and writing), and provided an aggregated six-year cost that appears in the transcript as "2429.998"; staff said that figure represents combined multi-year pricing (transcript formatting unclear) and asked the board to place the materials on 30-day review for approval at the May board meeting.
Board members asked whether digital updates are included over the six-year term and whether honors materials simply represent more rigorous content than the district's adopted open resources. Dr. Mcindle said digital updates and additional video resources are part of the subscription and that honors materials are intentionally more rigorous and aligned to ACT-level standards to prepare accelerated students for AP and college-level work.
Administrators said the 30-day review would begin immediately and formal approval is scheduled at the May board meeting; no final adoption votes were taken at the committee meeting.
The district will provide detailed contract language and the scope-and-sequence documents during the public review; the materials will be available for board and community inspection as required for the 30-day process.
The committee moved the items to the regular board agenda for May; district staff said further implementation planning would continue in spring and summer.
