In science class, a group of kindergarteners collects data about weather patterns in their area. Later that afternoon in math class, they analyze the data.Another class is learning about the calories in their diet during math class, and then how to burn calories in physical education.

The Board of Education is implementing an updated curriculum next year for county elementary schools that integrates reading, math, science, social studies and science education. The Elementary Integrated Curriculum is designed to allow students to draw connections between subjects, which helps students remember things better, EIC supervisor Laura Evanson said.

MCPS collaborated with Pearson Education, a global private educational publishing company, to draft the new curriculum, which allows the school system to use the developed curriculum for free. Pearson Education will also sell the curriculum to other school districts across the nation, and MCPS will receive royalties from every sale.

Gifted and Talented Association of Montgomery County objects to the arrangement with Pearson.

Members worry that the new curriculum will aim too much toward the national market and isn’t appropriate for the higher level of instruction MCPS students need.

“MCPS loves to tell us that we’re so much better than the national market student performance-wise,” GTA president Fred Stichnoth said.  “If that’s true, then something for the national market would be lower than what MCPS says is the proper trajectory for MCPS students.”

The GTA argues that the curriculum doesn’t provide a separate higher level curriculum to challenge gifted and talented students, a problem they have had with the previous MCPS curricula, Stichnoth said.

BOE members gave preliminary approval to the framework for the plan at a Sept. 27 meeting and expect to confirm it fully in November or December.  Despite concerns, the curriculum is likely to be passed in its current form, Stichnoth said.

Around 102 of the county’s 131 elementary schools are voluntarily implementing the program in kindergarten and first grade this year, and 90 schools already piloted the kindergarten curriculum last year.

If confirmed, the program will expand to all county kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms next year.

“The overall goal of the new curriculum is to teach critical and creative thinking skills,” EIC supervisor Laura Evanson said.  “These are the skills that we are all going to need in order to work together and solve problems as we are moving forward into the future.”