WHERE DO TEXTBOOKS COME FROM?

• The California Department of Education identifies one or more curricular areas for a "new adoption" each year. This year, mathematics materials are earmarked for adoption.
• The Department then reviews materials submitted by publishers in those areas and adopts those materials or series of books that match their goals, philosophy, and align with the adopted content standards.
• A local task force of teachers and administrators (and interested parents, if possible) is created.
• Each Task Force reviews the state-adopted series and narrows down the selection to a manageable number based on clear criteria. For the current math adoption, two elementary and two middle school series were selected for piloting.
• A process is created to pilot the materials at each grade level. Teachers are selected to use and compare the new materials in their classroom.
• The Task Force reviews teachers' recommendations and decides on the best series for Healdsburg students. Sometimes one K-5th grade series is selected and a different 6th-8th grade series is selected. It is rare to find outstanding materials that span grades K-8.
• The Task Force makes a presentation to the District Curriculum Council (DCC). The Council asks for specific and concrete information that justifies the selection of the materials and texts. The DCC must agree with the selection for it to move forward.
• The proposed materials are put on a 30-day display so parents may review them and provide input.
• The Board of Trustees considers the District Curriculum Council's recommendation after reviewing the materials and adopts the series if they agree with the selection.

For high school, the process is a bit different. High school teachers are not limited to series adopted by the State. Any materials and texts may be adopted if they are clearly aligned with the adopted content standards. This process generally follows the following steps:

• A high school department selects several series to pilot in a given curricular area
• A pilot is conducted so that teachers use and compare the proposed materials in the classroom · Materials are selected by departmental consensus
• Materials are put on a 30-day display to allow for input from parents
• The department makes a presentation to the District Curriculum Council. If the DCC concurs, a recommendation is made to the Board.
• The Board of Trustees considers the District Curriculum Council's recommendation after reviewing the materials and adopts the series if they agree with the selection.

If, as a parent or community member, you would like to serve on a curricular task force or on the District Curriculum Council, call Laurie Leach at 431-3482 or click here to send her an e-mail message. You do not need to be an expert. Just your interest is reason enough to get involved.