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Evesham leaders present assessment results as parents press for structured-literacy changes
Summary
District leaders reviewed spring assessment results and outlined changes to state testing; parents at the meeting urged a shift to structured, phonics-based reading instruction and raised concerns about assessment and professional development alignment with state guidance.
At a meeting of the Evesham Township Board of Education, district officials presented the annual “state of the schools” assessment review and parents urged an immediate shift to structured, systematic phonics instruction for elementary students. Dr. Smith and curriculum staff reviewed spring assessment results, changes to statewide testing, and intervention programs; parents said the district’s current literacy approach is not aligned with the New Jersey Department of Education framework and state law recommendations.
During the presentation, district staff reported that reading-recovery and intervention programs produced mixed outcomes. The presentation stated that 77.2% of a referenced student subgroup made “accelerated progress,” with additional smaller percentages making progress or receiving other services; the district also noted that reading-recovery training brought $23,000 in outside professional-development revenue and that roughly 700 students participated in summer programming. The district said the NJSLA (New Jersey Student Learning Assessments) will move to an adaptive platform and that the state will field-test questions this fall, with a short testing window tentatively in the week of Oct. 27.
Parents and advocacy groups used the public-comment period to press the board to replace what they described as “balanced literacy” programs with an evidence-based, structured-literacy core. Alyssa Hayes, speaking for ETSD Parents for Improved Literacy Outcomes, argued the district’s materials “contradict current NJ DOE standards” and urged leadership accountability: “The responsibility sits with leadership at every level.” Renee Pico, a parent and reading-interventionist, said her family pays privately for Orton–Gillingham tutoring because “sprinkling phonics in here and there is not effective. It must be taught systematically and explicitly to work.” Krista Ainelli called for the district to use valid, reliable assessments aligned to structured literacy and to participate in state-provided professional development.
Board members acknowledged the concerns. Several members said the district must use the recently approved tax levy to produce measurable improvement and to standardize practices across classrooms. The board’s strategic-planning process, facilitated by the New Jersey School Boards Association, will continue with a public session Oct. 15, which board members said will help set multi-year goals.
What the meeting did not disclose: parents and advocates alleged the district is not fully participating in the state’s structured-literacy professional development pathway and urged an independent review; board and staff responses described planned and ongoing steps but did not provide a timeline or a complete list of purchases or curricular adoptions. The district said more detailed slide content and the full presentation will be posted on the district website and in the ETSD update.
Next steps identified at the meeting included continuing district-level data review, using universal screeners this fall (the presentation named I-Ready for K–3) and further discussions at administrative and strategic-planning meetings. Parents and advocates asked the board to commission a review and to adopt an aligned core ELA program; the board did not take a formal vote on those specific requests during the meeting.
