Modernization extends to more than buildings
Adopting textbooks and supporting materials is never-ending process

During the last couple years, there has been a substantial shift in what is being taught within classrooms throughout the school district. In the same way that buildings have to be renovated, modernized, or replaced, so does the curriculum taught in our schools. In Oak Harbor, there is an overhaul underway that will have lasting impact on students.

Last year, Story Town replaced ReadWell and Celebrate Reading as the introductory reading material taught to children in Grades K through 5. This year, the Language Arts curricula in middle school and high school were completely replaced. After two years of study, the standard math books for grades 9 through 12 were replaced this year, as well as the textbooks for calculus and pre-calculus.

A review team is working now to have a new aligned math curriculum in grades K-8 in time to start the school year in 2010. "With the state's release of new math standards, it made sense to look at retooling the entire K-12 math curriculum," said Kurt Schonberg, director of Teaching and Learning.

New textbooks and materials for French and Spanish are also under consideration and plans are underway to review the entire K-12 writing curriculum for updates in 2011.

In Oak Harbor, the goal is to have a complete review and retooling of the curricula every seven to 10 years. After all, books that go home with 6th graders day after day tend to wear out. And new research and technology have resulted in improved teaching materials to help students learn in the digital age.

The cost of replacing books and materials for thousands of students is expensive. Purchasing the books and supporting materials for StoryTown was more than $300,000. New math curriculum for the entire school district is more than $500,000. In addition, a change in curricula means paying for days of training for teachers on how to best work with the new materials, which usually includes textbooks, CDs, DVDs, and online resources.

All the changes have to be considered in context with how it helps students over their 13 years in public schools. "The big picture we're working very hard on is to have both horizontal and vertical alignment throughout the school district," said Schonberg.

"Vertical alignment" is making sure that as students move up from grade to grade, there is a logical sequence that helps them build knowledge year after year.

"Horizontal alignment" ensures that students at the same grade level are having equitable learning experiences no matter which school or which classroom they are in. "We say equitable because it's not going to be the same experience," Schonberg said. "Teachers bring different teaching styles and ideas into the classroom. We don't want to force a cookie-cutter experience in the classroom, where everything is always the same, but we do want to use the same recipe for the same cookie dough."

Curriculum is chosen only after an extensive review process. The review, done by a committee of teachers, principals, and parents, can result in simple updates, continuing an already successful program, or it could overhaul a subject area, moving the school district in a new direction.

The review committees spend several months researching their subject, analyzing local needs, reviewing the many publishers, and contacting other school districts to learn their experiences with various materials. They eventually choose three or four curriculum plans, developed by publishers, which best align with Oak Harbor's needs. The different programs are reviewed by affected teachers at each school and made available to parents and the community.

In the end, the review team makes a recommendation to the Instructional Materials Committee, a permanent body that meets monthly in open public meetings. The IMC makes a recommendation to the school board, considering majority and minority opinions and any comments from the public.

The school board has to make a decision by March in order to get all the materials ordered, into the right classrooms, and get teachers trained on how to use them in time for the next school year.