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Board approves literacy‑model job changes and preschool staffing; trustees press for clear parent communication
Summary
The superintendent presented job‑description changes to rebrand literacy specialists, add structured literacy supports and to reorganize preschool staffing. Trustees approved the superintendent's consent agenda but expressed concern about how about 90 students will be informed about changes to tutoring and services.
The Cuyahoga Falls City School District Board of Education on Feb. 12 approved the superintendent’s consent agenda that includes personnel hires and proposed job‑description changes intended to restructure early literacy supports.
Superintendent Dr. Selica described personnel recommendations that include hiring an intervention specialist and renaming some literacy specialist positions to emphasize structured literacy coaching focused either on teachers or direct student support. The superintendent said the change is intended to increase the district’s early‑literacy impact by shifting from a reactive credit‑recovery model to more proactive, classroom‑based supports.
Why this matters: trustees said the model could improve student outcomes but warned that families whose children received prior tutoring could perceive the change as a loss of services. Board members asked for carefully crafted communication to avoid confusion that could prompt families to seek schooling alternatives.
What the board approved and asked for - Personnel: the board approved the superintendent consent agenda, which included the hire of Marley Fagan as an intervention specialist and continued funding/contract approvals listed in the packet. - Job descriptions: the board approved revised job descriptions that would allow the district to post positions labeled as structured literacy specialist and related titles to clarify roles (one role to coach teachers, another to work directly with students). - Preschool staffing: the packet included early‑childhood positions for preschool integrated classrooms; trustees asked finance staff to track actual preschool costs against projections and to report back.
Trustee concerns Board member Mrs. Schaefer said she supports the model but voiced concern about “the 90 kids that won’t be receiving this specific type of tutoring in the new format” and asked for an explicit family‑communication plan. In response, Dr. Selica said the district will continue to serve struggling learners and committed to improving outreach, adding: “we're not going to overlook those struggling learners.”
Staff and board emphasized that the revised approach is designed to be cost‑neutral in expectation and to produce stronger outcomes by embedding interventions into a multi‑tiered system of supports (MTSS) rather than relying solely on pull‑out tutoring.
Ending The board approved the personnel and job‑description changes and directed staff to track preschool actuals and to produce materials that explain the new literacy model for families so parents understand how their children will be supported.
