Forest Hills board approves several instructional resources, opens 30‑day curriculum reviews

The Forest Hills Board of Education approved multiple supplemental instructional resources and opened 30‑day reviews of two proposed curriculum texts at its June 8 meeting.

Mrs. Brian presented the curriculum items, saying the board would approve consumable Everyday Math workbooks for grades K–5 districtwide and Connected Math (grades 6–8) as part of the adopted math program. She also described course‑specific materials: an EMS tuberculosis resource for an EMS Project Lead The Way class at Eastern Middle and The Secret Life of Groceries for 11th‑grade Project Next at Northern High School.

The board also authorized 30‑day public review periods for a new middle‑school ELA program, Into Literature (Houghton Mifflin), which teachers piloted this year, and for Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt for use in the Central High pre‑AP9 honors course. A board member asked whether the middle‑school ELA change was prompted by state requirements; the presenter said the change resulted from a teacher‑led pilot after the district had not adopted a new middle‑school ELA in many years, in contrast to elementary reading materials that were influenced by a reading grant.

The district indicated junior‑kindergarten screening participation looked promising, and staff noted a Pages and Popsicles event for incoming kindergarteners on July 22 at the fine arts center. The board handled these curriculum and instructional material approvals as routine consent and annual items during the meeting.

Next steps: the two 30‑day reviews will allow teachers, parents and other stakeholders to examine the proposed ELA materials and Orbiting Jupiter before the board acts again; the district will communicate review timelines and opportunities for feedback.