Curriculum recommendations coming soon to Pasco School Board

A decision on how Pasco students are taught math and language arts could be just weeks away as teachers and administrators prepare to make recommendations to the school board.

The curriculum review committees have already narrowed the field to three options each in each subject and are reviewing notes from teachers and making other final checks on the materials, Suzanne Hall, a district administrator and one of the facilitators, recently told the board.

After that it will be up to the board to make a final choice, potentially as soon as its March 25 meeting.

District officials and teacher union representatives say the review process has taken a lot of work and cooperation. They’re happy with where the effort has ended up and what it means for the district’s future.

“We’ve got a long ways to go, but we’re doing great,” Hall said.

Lack of consistent textbooks and instructional standards across Pasco schools was one of the larger issues cited by teachers ahead of their strike in September. Under the new teacher contract, recommendations for new language arts and math materials for students in all grades are required by this spring. Science and arts recommendations are due to the board by spring 2017.

The review process has involved opportunities for public input, teacher surveys, and reviewing whether the new materials meet the Common Core state standards in math and language arts. The language arts committee recently had to eliminate one option that was considered a top contender but was found to not comply with Common Core.

Hall noted that everything is labor-intensive, from long meetings poring over the materials to hours spent reviewing surveys and notes.

It’s also built on a system of checks and balances.

“The teachers have checked the facilitators, and the facilitators have checked the teachers,” said teachers union President Greg Olson.

It’s still not clear what the new materials could cost the district — their sources range from nonprofits to large corporate publishers. They can cost in the millions of dollars but it “comes down to negotiations with vendors,” Hall said.

Board members recently applauded the review committees’ work, with board member Amy Phillips calling it “an intense winter.”

When board Vice President Steve Christensen asked Hall about the prospects of the effort helping the district better educate students, she said she was confident.

“This tool has given us objective data to make a decision,” Hall said of the review process.

Links to the top three curricula in math and language arts can be found at bit.ly/PascoCurriculum.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Curriculum recommendations coming soon to Pasco School Board."