The record breaking number of curriculum adoptions that have occurred in the district in the past year meant that the warehouse staff had a full plate this summer
BATTLE GROUND — The summer months provide opportunities for employees of Battle Ground Public Schools to accomplish many things. Maintenance and custodial employees are able to take advantage of the empty buildings to complete projects that would be difficult to accomplish during the school year. Teachers can work on lesson plans and renew their certifications.
And if you work in the district warehouse, you can help set some records.
The record breaking number of curriculum adoptions that have occurred in Battle Ground Public Schools in the past year meant that the warehouse staff had a full plate this summer in the processing and distribution of materials across all grade levels and in several major subject areas.
“Having new curriculum materials will affect the lives of students for years to come,” said Allison Tuchardt, Battle Ground’s co-director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. “Updating our learning materials helps bring deeper understanding about the current learning standards and best instructional practices to all of our teachers, which translates into improved learning outcomes for students.”
Last spring, Battle Ground Public Schools adopted new math curriculum materials district-wide for grades K-8. Over the summer, warehouse workers received, barcoded, and delivered textbooks for 281 math classes in grades K-5, as well as 94 math classes in grades 6-8. In total, nearly 9,000 students will be using the new math books during the 2019-20 school year.
In addition to the new math materials, the district also adopted new textbooks and reading materials for high school health, eighth grade Washington State History, and high school English Language Arts. The warehouse processed roughly 3,200 new novels and distributed them to high school English classrooms for this year.
But the warehouse crew’s work didn’t end with delivery. To make room for all the new materials, staff picked up and removed approximately 25 tons (more than 1,000 boxes averaging 50 pounds each) of outdated curriculum and library books from BGPS schools.
“The last year has been the hardest but most gratifying in my 14 years of working at Battle Ground Public Schools,” said Carri Kockritz, secretary for Instructional Materials and Circulation. “I’m proud of how much our curriculum adoption teams have been able to accomplish this year, as it’s ultimately our students and teachers who benefit.”
Even with the record breaking number of new curriculum materials already purchased and processed, the district continues to evaluate learning materials across all grade levels and subject areas. Currently, the district is proposing the adoption of a new, medically accurate sexual health curriculum for grades 9-12. Based on a community survey and the available curricula that meet the state learning standards, the district’s adoption committee created a customized curriculum from a combination of products and resources. The district is providing opportunities for the public to review the proposed curriculum, ask questions, and provide comments and feedback before the board makes a decision in October. More information about the high school sexual health curriculum adoption is on the district website.
Additionally, you can learn more about all the work that goes into the long process of identifying, reviewing, and eventually adopting new curriculum in the article we wrote last year.
Information provided by Battle Ground School District.
