StudySync Becomes the New Standardized ELA Textbooks

After months of constant voting on the adoption of a new English textbook for grades 6-12, the winner became the online application known as StudySync. The application features a library of over 1,200 texts that is constantly growing.

Unlike any physical textbook, StudySync allows for students to directly complete teacher assigned assignments online. One of these assignments, known as Blasts, challenges students to analyze topics of “current cultural significance, giving them the opportunity to voice informed opinions on the matter,” according to the official website.

StudySync was ultimately selected by a subcommittee of teachers – including Mr. Bowman, Mr. Daughtery, and Ms. Cortez – because of its high accessibility to a wide range of students, something not present with the current English textbook.

For example, the application has its own video program called StudySync TV, which features narrated videos of students modeling how to analyze authors and their work. “Any student that is a struggling reader or an English language learner will now have a curriculum that supports and builds on the work they are getting in the ELA class,” said Kara Contreras, Project Facilitator at Desert Sands Unified School District.

Mr. Bowman, one of the English teachers who participated in the voting process for the two different proposed textbooks, described the other textbook that was not voted on as “trapped in the past. It was like a digital version of a set book; they were never going to add anything to it; it [wasn’t] going to evolve or change with technology.” Bowman believes that StudySync “embraces the future of education” and meets students’ technological needs.   

In regards to how the program will be implemented in the years to come, it is hard to determine. English teacher Ms. Gonzalez said, “Since I teach designated ELD, we are having conversations on when and how to implement this new material. As for years after that, it is hard to answer, since ELD is a program that constantly changes.”

As for how the program will help English language learners, the material is there but ultimately “teachers will [still] need to implement strategies for ELL students,” according to Gonzalez.    

Ultimately, the current Holt English textbook will be replaced by the McGraw StudySync material by next school year in hopes to make English learning more interactive, fun, and intuitive for all students in grades 6-12 at DSUSD.