At the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year students at Carroll’s elementary schools were handed new math textbooks, and for the 2016-2017 school year students at the middle school will follow suit. At Monday night’s Carroll school board meeting a number of math teachers were on hand to present their recommendation for a new math series. Teacher Todd Tidgren says the new texts will line up with the curriculum much better than the current books which date back to 1999.
The math teachers, says Middle School Dean of Students Cory Heiman, first reviewed their old textbooks to get a better understanding of what they’d be looking for in a new series during a year-long process using numerous criteria.
Teachers looked through around six different series, and also obtained feedback from 5th grade teachers about which texts best transitioned students from the elementary’s Go Math! Series. Following the review process the group selected Big Ideas Math as recommended new textbooks for 6th through 8th grade. After the presentation members of the school board questioned the possibility of incurred future costs for the included consumable workbooks. Heiman says once the supply is used up they’d more than likely be starting the review process over.
The school board approved the purchase of the Big Ideas Math series for a total cost of $54,645 which includes 489 textbooks and accelerated learning material as well as professional development sessions. The cost will be covered by the district’s general fund. The full discussion on the topic can be found below.
