Rockport outlines curriculum choices, grants and $100,000 anonymous pledge for AI tools

Jody, the district's director of teaching and learning, reviewed end-of-year curriculum work for Rockport Public Schools on May 7 and outlined next steps in the district's curriculum review cycle. She said the high school U.S. history choice will be the Savas interactive digital resource for a year-long trial and that 6—8 science review landed on OpenSciEd, an open-source program under consideration pending grant support for training.

Jody also reported several competitive grants and a donor pledge to support technology and AI: "Drew and Nina Goodick from Ann Margret Ferrante's office helped us get the mass cultural council grant, which was $5,000," she said, and later noted, "we have a commitment from an anonymous donor for a $100,000." The $100,000 is being stewarded through the Ed Foundation and stretched over multiple years to fund an vetted AI tool called Conmigo, teacher PD and student access. Administrators said the gift will be used to pilot AI tools that are curated for education and to fund monthly build boxes and STEM resources for elementary grades.

Why it matters: Curriculum and materials choices affect classroom instruction; the district intends to use grants and philanthropy to support professional development and new instructional resources while seeking predictable budgeting for multi-year implementations.