Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ela Field Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Millard board approves districtwide PK–12 English language-arts field study; modest material cost noted
Summary
Trustees authorized a districtwide PK–12 English language arts field study that will test several curricula, involve dozens of teachers from every elementary building, and carry a small one-time materials cost for Montessori resources.
The Millard Public Schools Board of Education on May 12 approved a districtwide PK–12 English language-arts field study that will pilot several publisher programs and collect teacher and student data to inform a possible future adoption.
Administrators said the field study will include classroom pilots of materials from McGraw Hill, Amplify and Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) across elementary classrooms and relevant middle- and high-school alignments. District staff told trustees 75 classroom teachers from the elementary buildings will participate, with two to three classroom sections represented at each grade level; the goal is broad representation so peer teachers can share experiences in future implementation years.
District staff reported a small budget impact: $13,767.90 to cover Montessori materials and other minimal costs for the pilot. Assistant superintendent-level staff and curriculum facilitators said publishers commonly support field studies and that most costs are nominal; the district expects training needs and rollout planning if the district later recommends adoption.
Timeline and process: the field study will run during the upcoming semester; staff will reconvene the field-study group at the semester’s end to review data and teacher feedback. The district intends to present a recommendation to the curriculum planning committee in the spring following the pilot, and to bring proposed frameworks back to the board next April so, if adopted, new materials can be implemented the following school year.
District curriculum staff emphasized the pilots are aligned to the district’s broader work on the science of reading and to current professional development already under way. One staff member said, “There’s a lot of rigor built into the programs and there’s really strong supports for all of our learners,” and added the selected materials offer assessment-aligned intervention pathways.
The board approved the field study on a roll-call vote. Trustees asked that staff ensure training and support resources are factored into any later adoption timeline so teachers are prepared for classroom implementation.
