School board approves new curriculum

The Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the purchase of new English and Math curriculums for grades K-8 during their regular meeting on February 11.

Tuesday's board meeting had a very full agenda, but perhaps the most significant item was that of the adoption of new English Language and Math curriculums for all kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Alan Demaret and Curriculum Director Anne Marie Covey unveiled the nearly year-long process of selecting a new curriculum in a special presentation. Demaret and Covey explained that it had been over 10 years since the district had purchased and adopted a new curriculum. The current curriculum for English Language Arts is Houghton Miffin Collections and Journeys, which was adopted in the 2014/2015 school year. The current Math curriculum is Envision Common Core for K-5 and GO Math for 6-8, both adopted in the 2015/2016 school year.

Demaret and Covey discussed the process of selecting the curriculum by explaining how important it was to consider how the curriculum would fit into the Wyoming State Priority Standards while still focusing on student mastery. The pair presented a timeline of the selection process.

The process began in the Spring of 2024 with K-8 teachers completing staff surveys that asked needs assessment and curriculum tool questions. In September of 2024, they assembled committees with all schools being represented. In October 2024, the committee reviewed their instructional visions and created rubrics to "grade" each curriculum they reviewed. In November and December 2024, the committee attended vendor presentations for various curriculums.

In January, the committee selected new curriculums based on the grades from the rubric. With the committees selection complete, Demaret and Covey were prepared to seek board approval at the February meeting for purchasing K-8 Language Arts and K-8 Math curriculum materials.

The hope of the committee is to get everything ordered in March and April of this year in order to get proper staff and professional development scheduled as soon as possible. The ultimate goal is to implement the K-8 ELA and 6-8 Math curriculum programs at the beginning of the fall of 2025 school year.

The committee elected to adopt "Into Reading" by Houghton Miffin Harcourt for K-5 and "Into Literature" by Houghton Miffin Harcourt for 6-8. This specific curriculum includes five years of online curriculum for both students and teachers, five years of student consumables and two years of professional development, with online, in-person and on demand options.

For the new Math curriculum, the committee also chose to go with Houghton Miffin Harcourt "Into Math" for all grades, K-8. The Math curriculum also includes the same supplementals that the English literature curriculum includes, even providing math manipulative kits and homework and practice journals for all K-5 students.

The total cost of the new curriculum will be around $1.5 million.

Board Trustee Tom Wilson offered words of support and complimented the district on listening to the needs of both the teachers and students. Wilson also added that a new curriculum will aid in the upcoming accreditation process.