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Elementary teachers study math curriculum options
math curric 2020
Riley Elementary second-grade teachers Casey Gatton, left, and Tammi Cale get a feel for new math materials at a curriculum “open house” that invited the curriculum adoption committee and K-6 teachers to review components and textbooks.

Great Bend teachers are doing their homework to see what will be the next curriculum chosen for K-6 math classes. Great Bend USD 428 is in the first phase of a three-year, three-phase adoption process: study year, pilot year, and adoption year. Over the past week, teachers were invited to visit the District Education Center to review curriculum offerings from five companies, said Tricia Reiser, director of teaching and learning at USD 428. 

During the “study year,” an adoption committee comprised of teachers reviews curriculum offerings and evaluates the content, textbooks and online components or educational enhancements each includes. The committee will present their top two selections to the Board of Education in early 2021 with hopes of piloting both programs in the 2021-2022 school year. 

“I am really pleased with the teacher participation in our recent curriculum adoptions,” said Reiser. “The teachers who have served on the various adoption committees have shined as leaders, trainers and facilitators. Even after the first adoption year of the new curriculum, the teachers from the committees support the sustainability of the programs across the district.”

Seven years ago, in the 2015-2016 school year, USD 428’s five elementary schools implemented  Pearson Envisions as the math curriculum across all buildings.

Speaking of this unifying shift, Reiser said, “there is a lot of power being on the same page and it is one of the reasons why our district student math achievement is so good. Had we taken the state assessments this last spring, we were predicted to have passed the Kansas student achievement average. Our students’ progress is a great testimony for the dedicated work of our teachers and students.”

Since 2016, USD 428 elementary schools have also adopted K-6 reading, science and social studies curriculum, unifying instruction across the district. An adoption calendar revisits each subject, K-12, on a seven-year rotation.  

For more information about USD 428’s curriculum or adoption schedule, contact the District Education Center, 620-793-1500.



math curric showcase 2020
Amber Snook (kindergarten teacher) and Cecilia Arias (first-grade teacher) from Lincoln Elementary visit with Director of Teaching and Learning Tricia Reiser as they review potential math curricula for their young students.