New textbooks are arriving at elementary schools in Spokane County’s largest district, launching widespread adoption of the Common Core curriculum. Common Core is a set of national standards in language arts and math education that’s been adopted by most states, including Washington and Idaho. Some teachers at Roosevelt Elementary School on Spokane’s South Hill called the massive book delivery “Christmas in July.” Not only does it comply with new state standards, it’s the first time the district has had all-new teaching tools in 25 years. “They had piecemeal things before, and they had to spend a lot of time making it fit together,” said Karin Thompson, elementary curriculum coordinator. With the new materials, “now they get to focus on the art and science of teaching,” she said/Jody Lawrence-Turner, SR. More here. (SR photo by Tyler Tjomsland: Mary Lutton, right, and Sandra Olsen, fifth-grade teachers at Roosevelt Elementary, sort through books for Common Core on Monday)

Question: Do you expect a fierce fight over Common Core in the 2015 Idaho Legislature?