Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Upper Adams SD committee details new STEELS-aligned science resources, plans purchase with one-time grant
Summary
The curriculum committee recommended moving forward with new K–12 science instructional resources aligned to STEELS standards — Mystery Science (K–4), Inspire Science (5–8) and a BSCS high-school teacher resource — and said a Ready-to-Learn block grant would cover most one-time costs if approved; consumables will require ongoing budget planning.
The Upper Adams School District curriculum committee on Monday reviewed the final curriculum rewrite aligned to STEELS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability) standards and described recommended instructional resources for K–12 classrooms.
Presenter Joe told the committee the district completed a three-year curriculum revision and is now selecting resources to implement the STEELS-aligned scope and sequence. He said the next step is to ask the full board to approve purchases at the upcoming meeting.
Elementary teachers piloted Mystery Science for kindergarten through fourth grade. Second-grade teacher Rachel Ventura said the program is “phenomenon-driven,” pairs engaging videos with hands-on models and embeds scenario-based assessments; she noted the vendor offers English and Spanish materials and that kits are available but can raise consumable costs. “Each unit is based on a phenomenon,” Ventura said, describing sample lessons on plant adaptations and seed dispersal that prompted student inquiry and model-building.
For grades five through eight, teachers recommended Inspire Science for coherence across the intermediate and middle grades and cited its online components, built-in differentiation and hands-on kits. Brook Gates, a middle-school science teacher, said Inspire’s phenomenon-driven units and the supplemental kits helped students practice modeling and evidence-based reasoning before the new PSSA items arrive.
High-school teachers recommended a BSCS-based teacher resource to support Keystone biology instruction; presenters described it as a teacher-facing digital package rather than a full textbook adoption.
Committee members pressed presenters on recurring costs. The presenters and curriculum leads said consumables (soil, seeds, kit components) would continue to require annual budget allocations and that principals already plan line items for consumables in October budget requests.
Funding for the purchases will come primarily from a Ready-to-Learn block grant the district expects to receive as a one-time allocation. Committee presenters said estimated one-time costs are roughly $880,000 for Inspire Science, about $15,000 for Mystery Science and a smaller, one-time teacher resource purchase for high-school biology. They emphasized the grant must be spent by June 30 and that the district will seek the board’s formal approval before any spending.
The committee did not take a final vote but set the resource purchases to appear on the full board agenda for approval. If the board approves the purchases and the grant arrives as expected, teachers said the materials will be distributed ahead of rollout next school year. The presenters also offered to host building-level walkthroughs for board members who want to see sample units and kits in person.
