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U-46 moves forward on curriculum purchases: AP psychology, sociology, law resources and freshman seminar proposals
Summary
Administrators recommended adopting new instructional materials for AP/in-class psychology, sociology and law courses and a year-long freshman seminar; the combined three high-school social studies proposals total $818,062.02 and additional related proposals total roughly $255k and $91k as detailed in the board packet.
The School District U-46 administration presented and the board reviewed a package of curriculum resource proposals May 18 that would replace expiring online materials and update texts used in several high-school courses.
Jacob Van De Mortel, coordinator of K–12 social studies and world languages, described a teacher-driven selection process for resources aligned to state standards and College Board expectations. The proposals included:
- Intro to Psychology and AP Psychology (Myers Psychology for the AP Classroom, fourth edition) and related online practice materials; - Sociology (The Real World by W.W. Norton) and its assessment suite; - Law resources including Street Law (new edition) and a High School Law Review online resource to support civil discourse and case-based learning.
Van De Mortel told the board the committee included course teachers, who reviewed vendors and pilot materials, and an implementation plan that phases teacher training and curriculum alignment over two academic years. “All of these resources aligned to our current curriculum,” he said, noting teacher involvement in demonstrations and selection meetings.
Administration outlined a combined total of $818,062.02 for three proposals (with separate line items in the packet for $255,181.70 for the psychology proposals and $91,159 for sociology). The materials are charged to the education fund and are reflected in the FY budgets indicated in the packet.
Separately, the board reviewed a freshman seminar proposal presented by Beth McKinney to expand the one-semester pilot into a year-long elective, funded primarily by a CharacterStrong license and associated training costing $22,793.40. McKinney cited early district data suggesting schools with higher freshman seminar participation showed modest gains in freshman on-track rates.
Board members praised the teacher-led review process and asked about pacing for teacher preparation; administration said vendors will provide no-cost training during the August professional development day and teacher teams will meet quarterly during rollout years. The board moved these items forward as work-session proposals; approvals were read into the record as administration’s recommendations and will be executed through procurement and contract authorization.
