South Orangetown board adopts IMSE for K–5 phonics and word study; district to fund training

The South Orangetown Central School District Board of Education voted to adopt the Institute for Multisensory Education (IMSE) — Comprehensive OG Plus and Morphology Plus — as the district's K–5 ELA foundational skills program after a lengthy review and consensus process.

Superintendent's staff member Rudy Arrieta, who led the phonics and word study review, told the board the selection followed the New York State literacy review guide, Reading League curriculum guidelines and the district's nonnegotiables. "We use a consensus building protocol, to come to a, a decision," Arrieta said, describing a multi‑day review that included about 30 teachers and specialists from William O. Schaefer and Cottage Lane schools.

Why it matters: the adopted program provides a K–5 continuum that district staff said will align phonics instruction from kindergarten through fifth grade and reduce the risk of students encountering incompatible approaches between grades. Arrieta said IMSE also includes the most rigorous teacher training among the options the committee examined, and that training is a central reason the committee favored it.

What the board approved: the superintendent presented a consent addendum resolution authorizing the district to purchase IMSE curriculum resources and authorizing the superintendent or designee to "take any action in order to expedite and implement the terms of this resolution, including the transfer of funds that will exceed the threshold of $25,000 set forth in policy 6150, budget transfers." A motion to add the addendum to the superintendent's consent agenda was seconded and approved by voice vote.

How the committee chose IMSE: Arrieta said the review team examined five programs (listed in the district presentation as Foundations, the 95% Group, UFLI, IMSE and one other that scored poorly). The team used anonymous ranking rounds. IMSE had roughly 80% level‑1/2 support in the first round and rose to about 96% in the second round, Arrieta reported. He said no participants rated IMSE at the lowest concern level in the consensus checks.

Training and implementation details: Arrieta said IMSE requires 30 hours of training per teacher and the district plans an "aggressive" schedule to complete initial training by June 30 using a mix of superintendent conference days, team times and virtual sessions provided by IMSE. "It's virtual training... the moment a teacher signs up for training, they ship the materials to the teacher," Arrieta said. Materials procurement and training dates are being coordinated with the business office (identified in the meeting as Miss Espinal).

Questions and follow‑ups from the board: board members pressed for numbers and budget details. One board member asked how many special education and reading teachers are already IMSE‑trained; Arrieta said he did not have the final count at the meeting and would provide it. Board members also asked for a training schedule, how the district will cover teacher time out of class and what summer/overtime costs might be required. Arrieta said he would supply those details and work with principals and the business office to minimize instructional disruption.

Related district work: Arrieta said the IMSE adoption is the first step in a broader reading curriculum review. The same review team is now evaluating K–5 reading programs (Arrieta listed ARC, Arts and Letters, CKLA and Amplify among programs under consideration) and will continue vendor follow‑ups and faculty reviews.

Next steps and timing: the resolution states the adoption is effective for K–5 beginning with the next implementation cycle (the resolution text presented at the meeting indicated an effective date of approximately Sept. 1). Staff will finalize purchase orders, set training dates with IMSE, and return with the requested counts, budget impact and a schedule for teacher training and rollout.

Board action recorded: the board approved the superintendent's consent addendum to designate resources for IMSE and to authorize necessary purchases and fund transfers to implement the program. The board approved an amended consent agenda later in the meeting that included the addendum; one unrelated consent item (an item listed as 12a in the packet) drew an abstention from one board member during that omnibus consent vote (the meeting record notes the abstention separately).