The Bethlehem-Center School District is financially committed to its language arts and math curriculum for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Superintendent Donald MacFann said about $322,000, acquired through the U.S. Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), has been earmarked for the program.
“It’s definitely a need, and we have the funds to do it at this point,” MacFann said.
ESSER is federal funding designed to help schools meet the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students.
MacFann said a variety of factors led the district to this milestone, not the least of which is that the elementary language arts textbooks date from 2003.
“We did a needs assessment with all professional staff at the beginning of the year, especially with our K-8 teachers,” MacFann explained. “It has come back clearly that we need more resources placed in teaching the program.”
Low scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests were another factor.
“When you look at our current scores, we were less than 25% proficient in language arts and less than 50% in math,” MacFann said. “Teachers have made it clear to us that it is very difficult to align with standards and fill gaps in the curriculum as the latest purchase of a language arts textbook for elementary grades in Beth- Center dates back to 2003. You definitely need to move. move forward with something that is aligned with current standards.
Betsy D’Emidio, director of curriculum, instruction and student services, said some teachers choose not to use such an old textbook and find their own resources, while others use the manual.
“We have excellent teachers here, but they lacked the resources to provide effective classroom instruction, where it is aligned at each grade level to ensure they meet the basic (Pennsylvania) standards that are required “, she said. “It is extremely important that we get these series of manuals here, so that we can ensure that our staff are consistent with what they are teaching our children. There are a lot of gaps right now with training and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to fill those gaps. “
MacFann said the hope is to have the new curriculum in place by the start of the upcoming school year or at least soon after it begins. It is expected that parents will have the opportunity to view some of the content being considered by the district.
Two textbook vendors are being considered for the program – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and McGraw Hill.
D’Emidio said vendors were told staff would need a professional development opportunity to get used to the new program.
“We intend to provide professional development to our staff to ensure they know how to effectively use the new program we have put in place, regardless of the series of manuals we use,” he said. she declared. “We can’t expect them to implement something if we don’t provide them with the proper foundation and knowledge they need so they can use it for teaching.”
Many parties were involved in the decision-making process, such as the district curriculum committee, parent advisory committee, administration, and school board.
MacFann said teachers were also involved and seemed happy with what they saw.
“We have great staff here, especially our professional staff and teachers, and they certainly add valuable insight into some of these major things that we’re looking to change,” MacFann said. “It will certainly close the gap between standards and between school levels.”
