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Board hears final reports from two ELA pilots; adoption vote set for April
Summary
Big Walnut Local School District staff reported results of a January–March pilot of two elementary English language arts programs — CKLA and Wit & Wisdom — and said a formal adoption recommendation will come to the board after spring break in April.
The Big Walnut Local Board of Education on Monday heard a summary of a monthslong pilot of two elementary English language arts (ELA) programs and was told a recommendation will come to the board in April.
Curriculum Administrator Mark Robertson told trustees the district ran classroom pilots of Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and Wit & Wisdom from January through spring break to gather teacher and vendor support feedback. Robertson said teachers, instructional facilitators and RTI coordinators supported implementation during the classroom trial and that vendors met with teachers to answer questions.
“The pilot will wrap up formally when we leave for spring break,” Robertson said. “I would say that both programs have been very well received.”
Why it matters: The board will adopt one program for districtwide use; selecting materials now allows vendors and the district to schedule orders and professional development for next school year. Robertson said the adoption team will review summative teacher and parent surveys and a teacher debriefing before his recommendation to the superintendent and the board.
Board members asked for details about differences teachers reported. Robertson said teachers praised Wit & Wisdom for a large selection of trade books and a strong writing component and noted Wit & Wisdom’s quarter-length units and art integration. He said CKLA was praised for smaller unit chunks, ease of use, engaging knowledge-building topics and strong, interspersed questioning to prompt discussion and written responses.
Superintendent Ryan McClain, who said he and another administrator observed classrooms using both programs, told the board he saw student engagement in every class visited and called both programs an improvement over current materials.
Next steps: Robertson said the adoption team will send a final summative survey to affected teachers and solicit parent feedback immediately after spring break, then hold a summarizing meeting with the adoption team. He said he will make a recommendation to McClain and the administration will present its recommendation to the board at the April meeting, after which the board will vote.
The board did not take action Monday; Robertson and McClain said the timeline remains adoption in April with ordering, digital-access setup and a vendor-run professional development plan to follow if a program is approved.
