Cary, NC (April 11, 2018) – The Wake County Public School System has selected Open Up Resources 6–8 Math as its next math curriculum, it was announced at the WCPSS Board of Education work session on Tuesday, April 10.
The nationally acclaimed Open Up Resources 6–8 Math curriculum is a comprehensive core curriculum that has been designed to promote active learning in math classrooms. Students work through real-world math problems, often in pairs or groups, in order to foster a deeper understanding of mathematics concepts. As students collaborate, they are encouraged to share their reasoning, a practice that has been shown to enhance students’ mathematical fluency, while also developing their skills as communicators.
The curriculum, to be implemented during the 2018-19 school year, was also selected for its strong alignment with North Carolina state standards. EdReports, the independent nonprofit that reviews K–12 curricula for standards alignment and quality, gave the curriculum its highest-ever rating for a math curriculum, with a near-perfect score, and Wake County’s own evaluation of the materials produced a consistent outcome. In addition, the curriculum aligned well with the high school math curriculum adopted last year, MVP Math.
This decision comes after a yearlong evaluation process that included input from teachers and the community. Earlier this year, the district issued an RFP then carefully screened materials for alignment to the district strategic plan and to North Carolina state standards. The strongest candidates were tested in classroom “pilot” use. Parents and teachers were invited to several Community Input Sessions held at schools throughout the district.
“Every data point in our evaluation process indicated that Open Up Resources was the best math curriculum for our students,” said Brian Kingsley, WCPSS Assistant Superintendent for Academics. “It aligns perfectly with our district’s strategic plan goals for dynamic learning; our teachers raved about the ways that students responded to the materials; and our community shared enthusiastic feedback about the materials.”
The Open Up Resources 6–8 Math curriculum has been designed as an open educational resource, meaning that it is free for schools to adopt. WCPSS will purchase print workbooks for the curriculum, yet compared to the cost of adopting a traditional textbook, the district benefits from meaningful savings by selecting a freely-licensed curriculum. The district will invest those resources in professional development for its middle school math teachers, to ensure success with the new program.
This is the second curriculum from Open Up Resources that Wake County has adopted. Last year, the district selected the EL Education Language Arts curriculum for grades 3-8. The district recently accelerated its rollout of that ELA curriculum based on its success in the initial year of implementing the curriculum in grades 3 and 6.
“We have come to see the Wake County Public School System as a national leader for the careful, thoughtful way that they select instructional materials, then invest in their team’s success with the materials,” said Jessica Reid Sliwerski, Chief Academic Engagement Officer at Open Up Resources. “We are exceptionally proud that Wake County’s robust process has resulted in the selection of two of our curricula in the last two years, and we look forward to supporting strong teaching and learning in the district.”
For more information about Open Up Resources 6–8 Math, visit https://im.openupresources.org.
ABOUT WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
The Wake County Public School System serves more than 160,000 students in 187 schools, making it the largest school district in North Carolina and the 15th largest in the nation. Its Vision 2020 Strategic Plan calls for at least 95 percent of students graduating in four years by the end of the 2019-20 school year, and is well on its way with 88.5 percent of students graduating as of 2017.
ABOUT OPEN UP RESOURCES
Open Up Resources is a nonprofit that develops the highest quality K–12 curricula available and provides them to districts for free, as open educational resources, to promote equity in education. Open Up Resources partners with the country’s foremost math and literacy experts to create superb instructional materials which earn the very top ratings in third party reviews, then equips districts with the support they need to implement with success. Its mission: to provide students with equal access to rigorous, standards-aligned materials, while easing adoption by districts.