After a lengthy review of district math programs, the Plum School Board has opted to spend about $685,000 to acquire updated resources for classes.
That means students will be using new textbooks and classroom materials as Plum shifts to different mathematics programs, according to Assistant Superintendent Ashley Boyers.
Boyers said a committee of district teachers and educators decided to move to Savvas Learning Co.’s “enVision+” mathematics programs for K-8 classes as well as the firm’s algebra, geometry and algebra II programs.
The district had already partnered with Savvas for some programs, Boyers said, but it didn’t have a standard program for all grades.
Rather than an overhaul, the assistant superintendent said the changes were “fine-tuning” Plum’s math curriculum.
The monthslong review saw Plum officials consult universities and employers that are popular with Plum graduates as well as other local school districts, Boyers said.
“It’s driven by our teachers, it’s driven by our educational experts,” he said.
The district will begin training teachers to learn the new materials this summer, ahead of next school year, Boyers said.
School Board President Renee Richardson thinks the transition to the new materials will be a seamless process.
“If we’re going to spend money on anything, it’s (academics),” she said.
Board member Lindsay Arenth was the sole director to vote against the update, calling the large pricetag “unsustainable.”
“At a time when our district should be demonstrating fiscal discipline and exploring more internal efficiencies, this expenditure signals a lack of alignment with our taxpayers’ financial realities,” she said.
Also included in the nearly $700,000 price tag is a new data tool from New York-based LinkIt, Boyers said.
The firm’s data warehousing services will centralize various spreadsheets and other data repositories into a “one-stop shop for educators,” he said.
That’s part of a district push to make more data-informed educational decisions, Boyers said.
