What to know
Hedith Sauceda-Upshaw, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, presented the board with the decision from the district’s guiding coalition, a team established to plan the initial implementation. 71% of the team voted to roll out the curriculum in kindergarten-fifth grade rather than having a two-year rollout for kindergarten to second grade the first year, and then adding third-fifth grade in the second year.
The board had approved the curriculum at the Jan. 7 meeting where it would be piloted in certain campuses, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The coalition met March 27 and April 8 to also establish a process to procure the new instructional materials and develop strategies for student assessment, according to the April 15 meeting packet. The next CISD board of trustees meeting will be held May 12 to make a professional learning plan and align expectations for the curriculum.
“Once we know how we’re moving forward, then we need to come back and talk about all the things to make it successful,” Upshaw said.
Zooming in
Bluebonnet Learning was approved by the State Board of Education from a proposal from the Texas Education Agency following the approval of House Bill 1605 during the 88th legislative session in 2023. HB 1605 includes increased funding for approved instructional materials, according to the TEA.
Bluebonnet Learning products are free of charge to access online in their digital format; however, hard copy print materials are not free, according to the TEA website. Following HB 1605, the district will have additional annual funding of $1.3 million for the Bluebonnet program that was received in late 2024.
Something to note
Along with Conroe, other Texas districts have discussed the Bluebonnet curriculum including:
