Jim Thorpe Area School District’s youngest students will have a new reading series following a 6-year contract approval Wednesday night.

Directors unanimously approved the purchase of the Wonders Reading Series for grades K-5 at an estimated cost of $320,000.

The district’s current reading series, Superintendent Robert Presley said, will no longer be supported after the 2023-24 school year.

“We don’t really have a choice as Journeys is going away and we have to make a change,” Presley said. “This research based structured program was piloted this year after reviewing numerous reading series, and it was determined to be the best option moving forward.”

The district, he said in a workshop earlier this month, spent much of the last year researching different programs.

According to the Wonders website, the program provides educators with lesson plans, personalized instruction, and digital resources to support students’ growth as readers, writers, and critical thinkers.

Through piloting Wonders this year, Presley said, the estimated $320,000 will be trimmed down as the district finds certain parts of the program it doesn’t feel it will need.

“Of the total price, $45,000 will be coming from a grant,” he said. “We are also fortunate that we can break up what is left over with half coming from this year’s budget and half from next year’s budget.”

Other school districts around the area using Wonders include Hazleton, Whitehall and Northampton, as well as all of the catholic schools in the Allentown Diocese.

“We really liked the structure of this program and the reading skills that it builds,” Presley said.

Jim Thorpe hopes to have the new reading series materials in by its professional development period in June.