WCBOE Votes on First Read of Fishtank Curriculum

At the April 11, 2023 board meeting, the Wicomico County Board of Education was presented with the Fishtank Learning curriculum to be used for K-5. Many questions were asked by the board, and many questions were answered by the Director of Curriculum and the Supervisor of Reading K-5. Some of those answers were truthful, while others deceptive. Before the administrators were asked questions by the board, the board was presented with fluff and folly, to make it appear that the Fishtank Learning curriculum is the greatest on planet earth.

Deception #1 – The Fishtank Learning Curriculum is FREE

The board was told that the Fishtank curriculum is FREE, and all they have to do is buy the books to use with Fishtank. There was no mention that Fishtank would really cost $660,000, which was discovered here:

Fishtank Learning is not a company that exists for free handouts. Their base curriculum is free, but their add-ons called “Fishtank Plus” to use their courseware and an annual subscription for each teacher has a fee. We know that WCPS is using Fishtank Plus, as the Supervisor of Reading K-5 stated how the units can be customized by adjusting the selection through the Fishtank portal. She also stated that their teachers have access to the additional courseware modules at their Pemberton Cocoa, Cookies, & A Good Book event. In addition, Fishtank also gets a commission from the book supplier. Here is proof that Fishtank is not free: