District curriculum staff presented a multi-part update on elementary curriculum, saying the changes are data-driven and intended to raise student achievement by strengthening core instruction and targeted interventions.

Dr. Shanahan, a district curriculum leader, told the board that “we take professional learning very seriously at Amherst because we know that it is the teachers that have the capacity” to raise student outcomes when curriculum and practice are aligned. She said the district offered 73 distinct elementary professional-development sessions from May through October and emphasized multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) as the operational framework linking curriculum, instruction and assessment.

The literacy update detailed changes to screening and diagnostic practice and classroom materials. The district will: move a fluency-based reading curriculum measure (RCBM) and its comprehension component into grades 4–5 for better prediction of comprehension; give kindergarten letter-name and letter-sound screens three times per year rather than once; pilot and adopt higher-quality decodable books for K–2 that provide more opportunities to practice phonics skills; and expand the explicit teaching and application pacing in early-grade phonics. The presenters said universal screening will continue via FastBridge in fall, winter and spring, with diagnostic follow-up for students below the 30th percentile and progress monitoring for tiered interventions.

Staff cited a persistent early-entry risk: about 30% of incoming kindergartners were identified as at risk in recent years, and the district has launched a “tier 2 for all” intervention at one higher-risk elementary (Windermere) to accelerate foundational skills for kindergarten and first grade. The district reported that targeted tier 2 and tier 3 interventions (SPIRE, EQuIPP and related programs) have been reviewed and aligned to diagnostic data, with outside consultants from Niagara University and Buffalo State University working with the district to refine interventions and progress monitoring.

On math, the district said it is continuing a multi-year rollout of the New York version of the Eureka curriculum (Eureka²) for K–5 and pairing it with sustained, job-embedded professional development. The presentation noted that the district has engaged Tricia Hussle of area BOCES for extended PD and has developed a vertical “fluency strategy staircase” to align grade-level language and exit outcomes.

The presenters described an internally facing online resource repository under construction that will house scope-and-sequence documents, screening and diagnostic tools, intervention guidance and lesson templates to help new hires and long-term substitutes implement tier 1 instruction consistently.

Board members asked for current tier distributions relative to the 80/15/5 research target; staff said the district would provide existing percentages after the meeting and noted some buildings are closer to the targets than others. Staff emphasized that many changes described are already underway as pilots or early implementations rather than hypothetical proposals.

The district’s next steps include broadening pilot work on decodable texts, completing the literacy writing-audit, finishing the math fluency staircase, finalizing the internal resource website, and continuing the phased rollout of Eureka math through next school year.