Brookline — The School Committee received an update Sept. 18 on the district’s new English language arts curriculum and the plan to monitor its first-year implementation. District leaders said K–5 classrooms are using Fish Tank units as the core curriculum this school year, while grades 6–8 have a partial rollout with the goal of full implementation next year. "All students, regardless of their background or circumstance, need access to complex text," Kristen Gray, the district’s K–8 ELA coordinator, told the committee.

Why it matters: The curriculum change is the district’s largest coordinated adoption for K–8 literacy in several years and ties directly to the district strategic priority on teaching and learning. Staff said the shift affects classroom instruction, professional development needs, instructional materials purchasing, and the district’s near-term data collection and evaluation work.

What the district said: Curriculum staff described a multi‑year process that began with review work in 2022 and narrowed candidates in 2024. The district used third‑party reviews and local teacher review before selecting Fish Tank. Gray told the committee that teachers received materials and professional development ahead of this school year: K–5 teachers had Fish Tank texts and a Fish Tank ELA Plus subscription by February and that all K–5 trade books were purchased last spring; 6–8 subscriptions arrived in July and trade books in August. The Prism 3 grant funded about half of the purchase price for subscriptions and trade books for the two cohorts, staff said.

Training and supports: Staff described ongoing professional learning focused on “intellectual prep” — the teacher work of unpacking complex texts and planning instruction — and said that cross‑school collaboration and learning walks will be used to observe implementation, identify supports, and design follow‑up training. District leaders said learning walks are intended as informational and supportive, not evaluative, and will involve building administrators, district staff and teachers.

Data and evaluation: The district plans to use multiple sources to understand implementation: benchmark literacy data (MCAS for K–3; STAR reading for grades 4–8, with STAR newly added this year in grades 7–8), teacher and student surveys during the year, and regular classroom observations calibrated to a common “look‑fors” rubric.

Questions and concerns from committee members: Several committee members praised the planning and teacher training, while others raised questions about classroom-level choices and content. Committee member Carolyn raised the sequence and themes in some middle‑school units — citing unit titles such as “Facing Prejudice” and “Encountering Evil” — and asked how those themes are presented to early adolescents. Kristen Gray and Joelle Peterson, interim senior director of teaching and learning, said Fish Tank includes core texts aligned to each unit and that teachers retain classroom libraries and choice reading alongside the core units. Peterson said the district will collect qualitative feedback from teachers and students and can bring suggested changes to the vendor over time.

Budget and timing: Staff and committee members said some implementation costs were offset by grant funding this year (Prism 3) but that additional needs could arise during monitoring. Committee members and staff discussed how implementation costs and potential additional professional development or materials needs should be considered in next year’s budget planning.

What happens next: District leaders said they will return to the committee in the spring with findings from benchmarks, surveys and observations and with recommendations for adjustments or next steps, including the timeline for a full 6–8 rollout.

Ending note: Committee members asked staff to continue sharing implementation evidence and to highlight any budget implications early in the FY‑27 budget process so the committee and community can evaluate tradeoffs and potential funding options.