Danbury School District credits K–5 reading rollout, earlier testing and coaching for strong i‑Ready gains

Danbury School District presented an update to its curriculum committee on the district’s K–5 reading rollout, multilingual instructional plans and a changed assessment calendar, saying earlier benchmarking and targeted coaching helped produce unusually large i‑Ready growth this year.

Chris Roach, staff member, opened the presentation by describing the district’s curriculum-alignment work and the objective to “develop a clear, consistent approach to teaching and learning that weaves together the district’s initiatives.” Roach said the district adopted the American Reading Company (ARC) core through fifth grade with funding from ARP/ASR sources and has paired the adoption with coaching and multilingual supports.

Mr. Gomes, staff member, described the district’s approach for English learners as aligned with “the legal requirements coming from Title 3,” and said the model combines small‑group English language development (ESL) with a constructivist model that keeps explicit language instruction in mainstream academic classes. “English learners need to be receiving…