Committee approves AP Statistics textbook purchase; Spanish and French textbook purchases tentatively approved pending budget

The RSU 11 Curriculum Committee voted Jan. 13 to purchase new AP Statistics materials and tentatively recommended new Spanish and French textbook sets pending budget approval.

Staff recommended Practice of Statistics from BFW Publishers for AP Statistics after a comparative review of available texts and alignment checks with current College Board materials. The committee reviewed two price scenarios: 25 student books plus teacher materials ($4,919.50) and 30 student books with teacher materials ($5,308). Staff recommended the 30‑book option to provide replacements and avoid later reordering. A committee member moved to approve the BFW purchase at the quoted price; Linda seconded and the committee voted unanimously in favor.

Separately, the world language department outlined multi‑year participation in the Seal of Biliteracy and presented comparative evaluations of Spanish and French textbook packages. Staff favored Carnegie Learning’s Spanish and French programs for contemporary cultural relevance, built‑in differentiation and audio/video features that support the Seal of Biliteracy. One‑time estimated costs were presented as roughly $3,000 per language program (covering the levels recommended) with annual online renewal costs of about $1,800; staff and committee members agreed to tentatively approve the recommendation but to finalize purchases once the full curriculum budget is confirmed.

A committee member summarized the selection criteria by saying that a predominantly lecture‑style text would be disfavored for AP Statistics and that alignment to AP practice and digital tools were deciding factors. Staff will include these textbook costs in the upcoming curriculum budget packet for final approval and ordering after community budget adoption.