CHENEY – Cheney Public Schools is set to implement new K-2 literacy and secondary math curricula for the upcoming school year, following detailed presentations and unanimous board approval at the July 17 school board meeting.
The new resources aim to enhance instructional quality and support both students and teachers in achieving academic success.
Director Annie Wolfley, who presented the K-2 literacy curriculum, emphasized the district’s focus on foundational skills and teacher support. “We’re really looking at phonics and what we can do to help teachers help their students learn to read,” Wolfley said, noting that many teachers lacked experience in teaching reading.
The selection process involved a thorough review of potential resources, including field studies and feedback from teachers. Ultimately, the district chose the Haggerty curriculum for its hands-on approach and comprehensive support. “Haggerty was above and beyond. It is more hands-on and was unanimously chosen,” Wolfley stated.
Teachers will receive all necessary materials in August, with professional development scheduled for August 21. The new curriculum is expected to significantly improve early literacy outcomes for students.
The district also adopted new instructional materials for secondary math, aimed at aligning with the district’s non-negotiables of curriculum content, user-friendliness, resource differentiation, and technology integration. Wolfley outlined the selection process, which included a field study of four potential resources.
For middle school, the district selected Into Math by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) due to strong positive feedback from teachers. High school teachers favored Reveal Math by McGraw Hill. “Middle school will use Into Math, while high school will adopt Reveal Math,” Wolfley explained.
One notable decision was to provide online access to math resources for both middle and high school students, rather than traditional textbooks. “Each student will get online access instead of individual textbooks,” Wolfley said, noting that classrooms will still have a set of textbooks available.
The adoption of these curricula comes with a significant investment. Into Math HMH will cost $145,000 over six years, while Reveal Math McGraw Hill will cost $140,000 over the same period, totaling $285,000. This investment is expected to provide substantial long-term benefits by supporting students’ math proficiency across grades.
Board member Mitch Swenson commended the thoroughness of the selection process and the district’s ability to reach a compromise that addresses the needs of both middle and high school students. “It’s great that you were able to come to a compromise, like you didn’t force them to all use the same resource,” Swenson said.
The new curricula are set to be implemented in the upcoming school year, with professional development for teachers scheduled on August 21 for a smooth transition.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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