As an educator in Alabama, you may have heard about the High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption. In states like Alabama, instructional materials adoptions are instrumental for schools as they seek to purchase approved resources for the current and future academic years.
But what exactly is Alabama’s High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption? And what clusters or subjects were included in this adoption cycle?
In this article, you’ll discover everything you need to know about the 2023 adoption in Alabama. Specifically, we’ll look at:
- What Is an Instructional Materials Adoption?
- What Is the Alabama High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption?
- Which CTE Subjects Are Part of Alabama’s 2023 Materials Adoption?
- How Can My Program Be Ready for Alabama’s 2023 Adoption?
At the end of this article, you’ll know more about Alabama’s recent materials adoption to ensure you’re prepared to make the best choice in educational resources for your students and program.
What Is an Instructional Materials Adoption?
In states like Alabama, an instructional materials adoption (sometimes called a textbook adoption) is an opportunity for textbook publishers, digital curriculum providers, and other educational resource creators to submit curricula for approval at the state level.
Adoption cycles consider a variety of curriculum solutions available to schools, including digital resources. These curriculum materials are designed to satisfy specific state instructional standards, such as the Alabama College and Career Readiness Standards (ACCRS). Approved resources can then be adopted by school districts to use in the classroom for individual courses.
The instructional materials adoption process helps ensure that each resource satisfies state standards and is designed to make it easier for individual programs to locate and select approved resources that will adequately prepare students for success in a variety of different courses.
Adoptions take place periodically on a cyclical basis to ensure teachers and students have access to updated materials that fulfill the current version of the state academic standards.
What Is the Alabama High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption?
The High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption is the current curriculum and resources adoption for the state of Alabama.
Alabama’s State Textbook Committee reviews and approves a state list of textbooks and instructional materials. Local districts may apply state funds to purchase from that list or may choose to adopt materials outside it using local funds, but they may not select materials that the state board has rejected.
As part of this adoption cycle, curriculum providers were invited to submit academic resources to the SBOE for review. These materials are intended to satisfy ACCRS requirements for one or more specific courses.
Which CTE Subjects Are Part of Alabama’s 2023 Materials Adoption?
While there are 16 career clusters recognized by the Alabama DOE the number of clusters that undergo adoption and review varies each year.
Currently, there are two CTE clusters available through the adoption including:
- Education & Training
- Hospitality & Tourism
Within these clusters, CTE curriculum publishers were invited to submit materials for several distinct courses. In this section, you’ll find the specific courses for which CTE programs can adopt new materials as part of Alabama’s adoption.
Education & Training
The Education and Training career pathway focuses on preparing students for teaching careers serving children and youth from birth through high school and for education-related careers outside of the traditional classroom setting.
The 2023 adoption includes resources for nine Education & Training courses:
- Early Childhood Education
- Educating Infants and Toddlers
- Foundations in Education
- Foundations in Early Childhood Education
- Early Childhood Curriculum
- Infants and Toddlers: Caregiving and Responsive Curriculum Development
- Developing and Administering an Early Childhood Education Program
- Working with Young Children
- Teaching
Adopting new resources in this pathway helps ensure the next generation of educators have the knowledge and skills essential for success.
Hospitality & Tourism
The Hospitality and Tourism pathway focuses on preparing students for employment in planning, managing and carrying out the essential functions of the many-faceted hospitality industry.
The 2023 adoption includes resources for eight Hospitality and Tourism courses:
- Culinary Arts I
- Culinary Arts II
- Food Science
- Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism
- Nutrition & Food
- The Culinary Professional
- Nutrition & Wellness for Life
- Principles of Food Science
By choosing new curriculum for your course you’re ensuring students have a firm foundation in hospitality and tourism for a wide variety of career opportunities
How Can My Program Be Ready for Proclamation 2023?
If you’re an educator in an Alabama CTE program, it’s critical to be ready for the 2023 adoption.
To be prepared for Alabama’s High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption, there are a few steps you should take. If one or more courses in your program are on the adoption list, take a moment to review your ACCRS requirements. Note any changes that you’ll need to ensure your materials cover.
Next, explore the curriculum options available to you. You can do this by visiting the Alabama Achieves website. You can even review samples to help decide if one or more offerings are right for you.
Finally, choose resources that will help give your students a comprehensive, cohesive education. You’ll want materials that not only meet ACCRS requirements but also ensure that your students have a seamless learning experience. One way you can do this is by adopting a comprehensive curriculum system, like iCEV.
Be Prepared for Alabama’s High-Quality Instructional Materials Adoption with iCEV
New textbook adoptions can sometimes catch teachers by surprise. If you’re an Alabama CTE director or educator, the instructional materials adoption means a change in standards and the classroom resources you will use.
But adopting new resources doesn’t have to be a challenge. You can choose to meet your standards with the comprehensive curriculum system from iCEV. With iCEV, you can meet requirements for courses in 11 different CTE pathways, including many courses affected by Alabama’s 2023 adoption.
You’ll receive access to an updated curriculum that meets state requirements, complete with pre-made lesson plans, interactive projects and activities, and automatically graded assessments.
Want to learn more about the curriculum and what it might look like to implement in your classroom? Easily gain access to your own reviewer account in which you can view all approved courses, lessons and materials.
