East Rockaway plans Eureka Math K–6, adopts Spanish pilot and ramps up writing and personal‑finance instruction

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Sean Murray presented curriculum priorities and planned adoptions during the April 21 budget work session.

Murray said the curriculum budget is slightly down after removing low‑use legacy software, which freed funds to increase professional development and textbooks. He announced full adoption of the Spanish pilot Repoteros (piloted this year at the high school) after a free pilot period produced positive teacher feedback, and recommended adopting Eureka Math K–6 following a year‑long review by a teacher/principal committee.

Murray also said the district will introduce the Writing Revolution (Hochman method) through phased professional development—likely starting in middle grades—and that New York State’s new personal‑finance graduation requirement (initially for grades 5–12) will require local curriculum writing, teacher training and cross‑department planning among business, math and social‑studies staff.

He highlighted a $42,000 increase in the home‑tutoring line (shared cost with Special Education) driven by waiting times for out‑of‑district placements and said the district intends to start some professional development this summer so teachers can prepare before the school year begins.

Administrators said they will continue to align materials and reallocate software budgets to technology where appropriate; rollout timelines will be paced by professional‑development capacity and budget allocations.