District 25 discusses new math, reading curriculum

Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 students will likely have a new math and literacy curriculum starting in the fall.

Administrators presented information on the changes, which would include a new reading program for kindergarten through fifth-graders and a new math curriculum for middle schoolers, to the school board on Thursday night.

The new programs would cost nearly $750,000, according to board documents.

District 25 had not updated its math curriculum since 2004, officials said. The changes would be the result of multiple years of study and piloting different programs in the classroom before teachers voted on one.

Math at District 25 middle schools is divided into a regular class and an advanced class, which at the eighth-grade level is geometry, taught with the same books and curriculum as are used at the high school level in Northwest Suburban High School District 214.

The math curriculum, called Big Ideas, would cost $184,335 and would also include six years of digital access to resources and assignments, said Kristen Williams, teaching and learning facilitator for math.

There would also be a multiple language option for English language learners that will have them read aloud, she said.

"We want to make sure we are setting our kids up for success moving into District 214," Williams said.

The new literacy curriculum, called Schoolwide Fundamentals, would cost the district $564,319, according to board documents.

New libraries in every classroom, from kindergarten to fifth grade, would make up about half that cost and would include 220 books each, officials said.

"One of the things that sets Schoolwide apart for me is the excitement level I see in the teachers, which is the direct result of what their students are doing as thinkers and readers," said Kim Brinkman, learning facilitator for literacy.

Teachers from all schools worked together to review the programs and voted unanimously to approve the new curriculum, said Eric Olson, assistant superintendent of student learning.

"What's exciting about this journey is the collaboration," he said. "All the experts were at the table making decisions."

The board will vote on the new curriculum April 30.