Newberg-Large City officials keep ARC as core reading program while launching shared decision process for alternatives

The Newberg and Large City School District will keep the American Reading Company (ARC) as its Tier 1 English language arts resource for now while launching a formal shared-decision process to explore alternatives and pilots, Assistant Superintendent Shannon O'Grady and Assistant Superintendent Alicia Soto told the curriculum committee on Sept. 10.

Why it matters: Committee members said the choice of a Tier 1 curriculum affects consistency for students who move between buildings and shapes what supplemental and Tier 2/Tier 3 interventions teachers use.

O'Grady said Tier 1 is "for all, for everyone," and described a suite of elementary diagnostics and screeners now in use, including i-Ready diagnostic tests and an oral reading fluency screener used three times per year. "The purpose of the diagnostics...is to let us know where our students are," she said, adding that assessment results must "inform planning." She also described classroom resources coming this year: handwriting curriculum "Handwriting Without Tears," UFLI/UFLY for phonics and phonemic awareness, Hegarty (a primarily oral program), and decodable texts and other supplements.

Soto said the district will not remove ARC without a formal replacement and that a shared decision-making committee will begin formal work in October, with pilots likely to follow. "We cannot simply replace tier 1 instruction without a replacement," she said.

Board member Mark Levinstein told the committee he favored keeping multiple options available as long as teachers control how to use them: "as long as it is something that the teachers are able to control, I think it's good to have these different options available." Ms. Peterson, a district administrator, also emphasized cross-district pacing as a benefit of retaining ARC: "For the most part, the pacing across the district was the same."

Committee members and staff repeatedly framed materials by tiers: Tier 1 (core resources for all students), Tier 2 (targeted small-group instruction), and Tier 3 (intensive individualized instruction). O'Grady explained that programs such as UFLI manuals and Wilson are available as supplemental resources for students who have not "cracked the code" by third grade and need focused phonics instruction in smaller groups.

Staff described a phased rollout for new materials and professional development: many elementary professional learning sessions were delivered virtually at the start of the year so teachers could unbox and organize materials while receiving training; some two-year programs will be introduced later.

Discussion vs. decision: The committee took no formal vote on curriculum adoption. The record shows staff direction and planning: a shared-decision process will begin in October; pilots and further board-level presentations were proposed. O'Grady and Soto emphasized that teachers will retain professional autonomy and that district leaders will support alignment across buildings.

What was not specified: The committee did not adopt or replace ARC at this meeting, and no timeline for a final selection beyond starting shared decision-making in October was provided. Specific pilot schools, vendor contract terms, and budgetary amounts for new materials were not specified.

Next steps: Staff indicated shared-decision meetings and pilot protocols will follow; the district plans to present curriculum planning materials to the board on Sept. 30 and to continue monthly professional development for teachers.