Mike Richie, District Administrator
Spirit Article - June 2022
Congratulations to our 76 Amherst High School graduates. This class has had many obstacles
throughout their last three school years. Hopefully, this senior year was more like their freshman year - somewhat normal! We wish all of our graduates much success as they leave us and enter the world of adulthood. It was our job to help prepare these students for what is to come next in their lives, whether it is going into the workforce, post-secondary education or the military.
One way we prepare our students is to make sure we are constantly monitoring and updating our curriculum. In a perfect world, we would update our curriculum every five years. This is not
always possible because of the cost involved when purchasing new curriculum and the budget
constraints that we may have within our annual budget. It is very expensive to update any one
subject area. However, we know we must make every effort possible to continue to improve in
the instructional area by keeping all curricula up to date.
As a school district, we develop a textbook review/rotation cycle. As a result of this rotation
cycle during the 2018-19 school year, we updated and implemented a new math curriculum. In
2019-20, we updated and purchased new technology devices and this school year we updated
and purchased a new English language arts/reading curriculum. Looking ahead, we plan on
updating social studies during the 2022-23 school year and science during the 2023-24 school year.
It takes up to one full school year to select a new curriculum. We try to bring in at least three
different textbook companies. Teachers will look at sample curriculum from all vendors.
Teachers are heavily involved in the selection process, and in most cases a teacher may pilot the curriculum options in their classroom throughout the school year. After the pilot time expires, the teachers and administration will discuss the options and look at what is the best fit for the district. The end goal is to make sure our students and staff have the resources and curriculum that will help ensure success for all students.
Again, congratulations to all of our graduates and a big thank you goes out to the parents/guardians of these graduates for all of your support throughout your child’s educational career in the Tomorrow River School District.
Enjoy the summer, stay healthy and be safe!