Mercer Island board adopts new Spanish curriculum after pilot with student preference for paper workbooks

The Mercer Island School District board on a special‑meeting vote approved a new Spanish curriculum for the 2026–27 school year following a pilot and reviews by teachers and members of the community.

Presenters from the district Spanish team — who identified themselves as Lara (who teaches levels 1–2) and Becca (who teaches Spanish 3–4) — told the board the chosen program restores explicit grammar instruction the staff felt was missing from the previous, proficiency‑based materials. “I asked the kids, do you want paper or do you wanna do it online? And they 95% want paper,” Lara said, explaining why workbooks were included in the purchase plan.

Board members asked whether native speakers and parents had been involved in the review. Team members said a parent native speaker and middle‑school staff reviewed the options and judged the selected text to be a more authentic representation of how people speak than the alternative the district considered.

A motion to adopt the program (referred to in the meeting as “Authenticom”) was made, seconded and approved by the board. The presenters said the curriculum package includes both print and digital components and that teachers will continue to supplement materials as needed to support AP‑level preparation.

The district noted the adoption followed initial review by the Instructional Materials Committee and a pilot period; procurement and distribution details for student workbooks were not specified in the meeting record. The board did not identify any budget increase tied explicitly to the curriculum vote during the motion.

The district said it will provide more specific rollout details to staff and families before the start of the 2026–27 school year.