District places OpenSciEd high‑school science materials on 30‑day review

The Huntley Community School District’s curriculum team proposed a change to the high‑school science sequence and asked the committee to place the recommended OpenSciEd resource on a 30‑day review.

Doctor McCreendall explained the district’s curriculum‑review cycle and said most elementary offerings will remain unchanged. At the high‑school level the recommendation is to follow the more common sequence (biology first, chemistry second, physics third) because it better aligns with math trajectories and ACT preparation.

As for materials, the district previewed OpenSciEd, an open‑source, online science program that has received strong reviews from curriculum evaluators (EdReports). Administration recommended placing the resource on 30‑day review so teachers can pilot and build frameworks; the high‑school and middle‑school teams will continue work over the spring and summer with an implementation goal for next school year. Administration noted printing options and teacher manuals remain optional and that the district may consider classroom hard copies later depending on teacher feedback.

Next steps: The committee agreed to move the resource to a January board review after the 30‑day staff pilot period.