NE Valley Times

Paradise Valley Unified School District issued the following announcement on Nov. 4.

As the Arizona Department of Education makes changes to curriculum standards, public school districts are required to adopt new curriculum materials and resources to align with the latest state standards. Here are the steps PVSchools uses to adopt new curriculum materials and resources to support our students’ journey of excellence.

1. The Need for New Materials

   New curriculum resources are often adopted when there have been changes at the state level in standards for a content area or series of courses. In 2018, for example, Arizona adopted new standards in social studies, and many of the materials PVSchools was using no longer aligned with those standards. Following the process below, new resources were adopted to support student excellence.

2. Frequency of Adoptions

   Curriculum resources are adopted for a period of time, usually six or seven years. At the end of the contract, access to online materials that accompany print materials also ends, thus prompting consideration for new adoption.

3. The Process

   When beginning a resource adoption, one of the first steps is to invite a large number of vendors to submit proposals to be considered. The curriculum resource committee creates that list based on suggestions from their constituency, resources used in other districts, national ratings the resources and vendors have received, and past experience with the resources.

4. Committee Member Selection

   Two to four members of each stakeholder group are typically selected, depending on the scope of the resource adoption. Committee membership is made up of district leadership, teachers, administrators, and parents.

   Stakeholder groups include central office administration (district leaders), principal and assistant principal association (administrators) Paradise Valley Education Association (teachers), and United Parent Council (parents).

5. Committee Meetings and Work

   Within the course of adoption, the committee meets between five and six times, with additional meetings taking place for certain grade levels or courses, and as needed to analyze resources and feedback at greater depths.

6. Window to View Materials and Community Feedback

   Materials are available for community viewing for 60 days. Community members are invited to review the proposed materials and to provide feedback. The committee reviews trends, concerns, and preferences in the feedback. This feedback is vital in informing the committee’s recommendations.

7. Governing Board Process

   The Governing Board considers the committee’s final recommendations in two meetings. During the first meeting, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Courson, as the committee’s sponsor, is joined by the committee’s facilitator and other members of the committee to present the committee’s recommendations. This presentation includes an overview of the committee’s membership, process, and recommendations.

   In the second meeting, the Governing Board considers any other information relative to the adoption and then has the option to approve, amend, reject, or defer the committee’s recommendation.

8. Implementation of Newly Adopted Materials

   In most cases, PVSchools adopts new materials in the spring, allowing for materials to arrive at the district by early summer for teachers and students to start using the new materials at the beginning of the new school year.

9. Current Curriculum Adoptions

   PVSchools is currently reviewing grades 9-12 math curriculum resources. Stakeholders can review the curriculum materials and provide feedback. The math curriculum materials are located in the lobby of the District Administrative Center (get directions) and can be viewed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Dec. 17. The committee will make recommendations to the Governing Board in Spring 2022. Learn more about the math adoption.

10. Future Curriculum Adoptions

    PVSchools will be adopting grades 7-12 English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum resources during the 2022-2023 school year, which will be implemented the following school year.