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District adopts Benchmark Advance literacy resource; staff training scheduled while state funding remains unreleased
Summary
The district completed a review and adoption of Benchmark Advance for elementary literacy instruction and scheduled staff training on April 17 and August 26; district staff warned that the $50 million allocated by the state to help districts implement Act 20 had not yet been released by DPI.
Chris Hintzman, director of curriculum (as introduced to the board), updated the school board on the district's Act 20 implementation and elementary literacy training at the April 7 Committee of the Whole meeting.
The district completed a summer review of literacy resources and adopted Benchmark Advance as the elementary literacy curriculum aligned with science‑based literacy instruction required by Act 20. Hintzman said training for elementary teachers will be delivered in two parts: an initial session on April 17 (08:00–13:00 during a scheduled staff development day) focused on curriculum orientation and grade‑level grouping for teachers who will change grades next year; and a technology/account setup session on August 26 during a staff development day before school starts.
Hintzman described the literacy training as part of the three Act 20 buckets—science‑based literacy instruction, assessment, and curriculum/resource adoption—and said the district has finished the initial teacher training and is completing assessment work. He thanked staff for their efforts and said new teachers must receive the training within their first six months in the district.
On funding, Hintzman (and other staff) told the board that the $50,000,000 the state set aside for DPI to support districts with Act 20 implementation had not yet been released, leaving districts without the expected aid for implementation costs.
Ending: Training dates are set and the district will continue implementation work; staff asked the board to note the funding shortfall and the ongoing resource needs connected to Act 20 compliance.
