Southfield Public Schools approved the purchase of new books for all grades at a cost of $1.7 million, said George Chapp, Director of k-12 Curriculum and Instruction for the district.

“No other district in Oakland County will have as updated texts as Southfield schools,” Chapp said.

In most cases, teachers will have a class set of textbooks for use in school, and students will have online access codes to use their textbooks on their home computers, tablets, or smart phones when they are not in school, Chapp said.

“I feel it’s good that everyone won’t have a book because some students are irresponsible and with the access codes, everyone can use the books at one time,” said junior Caraton Pruitt.

But ninth grader Taylor White said, “I think access code are a bad idea because everyone doesn’t have Internet at home, so everyone should have a book.”

Those who do not have Internet at home might be able to download the text to a computer, Chapp said.

The online texts offer new features older textbooks do not have, said Diane Hofsess, who was a member of the textbook selection committee. “The online literature book will read aloud to students when they click on the story or poem. The texts have online video clips teachers can play in the classroom. The new textbooks are also aligned to the Common Core curriculum.”

All  grade levels are getting new books in core classes, such as English, social studies, science and mathematics. The books students are using at present range from one to 13 years old, Chapp said.

Because there are consistent breakthroughs in science and world news, Chapp said, “Updated texts are vital. The textbooks are a tool to help students progress and be a part of the 21st century.”

Chapp said the State of Michigan recently finalized the benchmarks and standards for textbooks, making this the perfect time to purchase books.