School committee adopts OpenSciEd high-school materials, members say rollout will be incremental

The North Andover School Committee voted to adopt OpenSciEd for high-school science and signaled support for exploring Project Lead The Way exposure opportunities.

Committee discussion focused on the difference between CP and honors biology, implementation sequencing, teacher professional development and the need for a paced rollout. One member asked whether honors and CP biology would both use the same high-quality instructional materials and how honors classes would differ; a district presenter said honors sections would move more quickly and provide deeper lab experiences while the high-quality materials would form the course basis.

Students and teachers who participated in the meeting and the pilot described positive classroom experiences: a student in AP Computer Science Principles said exposure to Project Lead The Way-style materials helped prepare them for the AP exam.

A motion to adopt OpenSciEd as presented was moved, seconded and passed on a roll-call vote. Committee members praised Kara and the high-school science team for piloting and researching the materials and asked administration to return in the fall with an implementation timeline, professional-development plan and measures for evaluating the rollout.

Why it matters: The adoption changes the district's high-school science curriculum and will affect instruction, teacher training and assessment over the next school year. Members emphasized gradual implementation to allow teachers time to prepare for new units and assessments.

What comes next: Administration will draft and present a detailed implementation and professional-development plan in the fall and work with department heads to coordinate pilot lessons and lab access.