Teaching & Learning Resources

Selecting Supplemental Materials

What Are Supplemental Materials?

• Materials that addresses only a small part of the course content 
• Materials that are read or used by only a portion of the class 
• Materials that are used in conjunction with a core text to provide differentiated instructional experiences to those students who need them.
• Two or more copies ordered for student use 

Essentially, any materials being purchased that are not textbooks will fall under the category of “Supplemental.”  Supplemental materials may be any media type (including but not limited to: digital resources, videos, audio recordings), and must be Board-approved if they are to be used with students. All approved materials are listed in one central database. 

In order to purchase supplementary materials, one must first search the online database to see if the material is available (See Section I for instructions). If the material is listed in the database, staff members can proceed with the purchase since the material is already approved. If it is not listed on the database, this means that the material has not been approved and the staff member will need to go through the Request for Approval Process of submitting it for Board approval (See Section II for detailed instructions).

Section I - Searching the Online Database

1. On this page (below) you will find the link: Book/Supplementary Materials – List of Approved Materials. Click on that link, which takes you to a Google sheet.
2. From there, you can search for the supplemental material one of three ways:
   1. Manually scroll and search for the title of the supplemental material,
   2. Key in Control+F on your keyboard and enter the title of the supplemental material in the dialog drop down box that appears in the upper right-hand corner, or
   3. Click on the Edit menu, scroll down to Find & Replace, type in the title of the supplemental material and click on the Find button.

Section II – Request for Approval Process

If the material being requested for purchase is not listed in the database, this means that there is not a record of it having been approved already. In order to use the material with students, the initiating staff member will need to go through the process of getting it approved and included on the approved list. To do so, the initiating teacher must do the following: 

A.    A teacher or group of teachers can initiate the selection of a new book/supplemental material.

B.    The initiating teacher completes the appropriate Chalk/IK12 form (Book/Supplementary Materials - Request for Approval Form), which can be found on this page. 

• It is recommended that the initiating instructors be very detailed in all responses so that Department Lead/Chair and Principal have sufficient information to base their approval or denial of the materials.

C.    Once complete, the form will need to go through the approval route process. 

• The initiating needs to find a second teacher to read/evaluate materials who will provide their name and sign the Chalk/IK12 form. Their electronic signature on the form indicates they have reviewed the proposed material and agree with the evaluation of the material as submitted by the initiating teacher. The “2nd Teacher” will not need to complete anything online. 
• Once the electronic form has two teacher signatures, the form is then submitted to the initiating teacher’s site Department Chair/Department Lead. 
• If approved by the department chair, she/he will then sign the form and submit it to site Principal for her/his approval. The Department Chair/Lead’s electronic signature on the form indicates they have reviewed the proposed material and agree with the evaluation of the material as submitted by the initiating teacher.
• If the Principal approves of the selection and signs the form, the form is sent to Melissa Duran at the District Office. Once reviewed by District Office Teaching and Learning staff, the proposed material will be submitted to the Board for approval and then included on the supplemental materials list.
• Melissa Duran will notify the initiating teacher and Site Executive Assistant that the proposed material has approval to purchase. 

D.    If the Department Chair/Lead and/or Principal are reluctant to sign, or if District staff determine more information or consideration is required, the process will not move forward. The form should be returned to initiating teacher with explanation for non-approval. The initiating teacher can revise and resubmit the request for approval. 

E.    Books or materials not on approved list may be ordered (in quantities of 1-15 books) for teacher use by writing “Teacher Use Only” on the requisition form. Before any classroom or student use, however, they must go through the approval process. 

Important notes about the Book/Supplementary Materials Request for Approval Form

• Initiating instructor must complete all sections before submitting for approval. 
• Supplementary materials containing any issues of social/sensitive content must include plans for addressing potential concerns.
• Supplementary materials with an MPPG rating of “R,” “NR,” or “NC-17” must obtain further parent/guardian permission for the student to watch the video, even after Board approval. A sample permission letter is available on this page.