Collinsville ISD announced last week that in the coming school year, it will implement a new curriculum for kindergarten through 2nd grade. Bluebonnet Learning are state-developed instructional materials that provide teachers with the tools to foster student success. Developed using the latest cognitive science, Bluebonnet Learning instructional materials cover 100% of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and provide a full suite of resources, including scope and sequence, daily lesson plans and student materials.
All Bluebonnet Learning instructional materials are designed to be high-quality, suitable and grade-level appropriate.
The reason for the change in curriculum is to help our students achieve at a higher academic level and ensure they are receiving the instruction and resources that the state deems grade-level. The district believes the change to Bluebonnet Learning will give their teachers the curriculum and resources they need to help their students achieve at a higher academic level. In making the change, Bluebonnet Learning calls for intense training and implementation.
Collinsville Kindergarten-2nd grade teachers attended a two-day training in June for Bluebonnet Learning. The two days were for either Mathematics or Reading/Language Arts (RLA). During 10 days of the school year, the teachers will have consultants for the Region 10 Service Center to help implement the curriculum. With the intense training and learning the teachers will take on this upcoming school year, the decision was made that 1st and 2nd grade would be departmentalized.
This means that one teacher will teach all the mathematics, and the other teacher will teach all the RLA. The hope is this change will allow the teachers to grow and become better experts in the content.
Another change for the 2025-2026 school year is that most grade levels will see two sections instead of the three the district had last school year. Operating under three sections, the district adopted a deficit budget, which obviously isn’t sustainable. Therefore, the decision was made to go back to two sections for each grade level.
With two retirements in the junior high, the district was able to retain all staff and refrain from any layoffs. The two vacancies created by retirement will be filled by Mr. Munoz and Mr. Baker. Mr. Munoz will teach 6th grade science and social studies, while Mr. Baker will teach 6th grade RLA. A new addition to the staff will be Ms. Maher and she will teach 6th grade math. Mrs. Franklin (RLA and Social Studies) and Mrs. Bates (Math and Science) will remain in 5th grade. Mrs. Walters (Math and Science) and Mrs. Butler (RLA and Social Studies) will remain in 4th grade. Mrs. Light (Math and Science) and Mrs. Hacker (RLA and Social Studies) will remain in 3rd grade. Mrs. Pepe (RLA and Social Studies) and Mrs. Stewart (Math and Science) will remain in 2nd grade. Mrs. Brown (RLA and Social Studies) will remain in 1st grade and Mrs. Baker (Math and Science) will be moving from Kindergarten to 1st grade. Mrs. Weaver and Mrs. Jenkins will remain in Kindergarten. Mrs. Long will remain in Pre-Kindergarten.
Source: Freepik.com