Council Rock School District curriculum coordinators told the Education Committee on March 27 that the district is preparing to launch full‑day kindergarten in the 2025–26 school year and is designing daily lesson structures, diagnostic checks and staffing supports to use the extra instructional time.

The presentation explained how existing programs will scale up rather than be replaced. English language arts will continue using Reading Horizons as a foundation; kindergarten teachers will deliver daily lessons that begin with phonemic awareness, move to phonics/spelling and guided dictation, then whole‑class reading and short digital skill checks so teachers can identify students for small‑group pull‑out. Math instruction will continue with the Bridges Math curricula, with added time for Number Corner and more problems-and-investigations work. Play‑lab units will give developmentally appropriate, standards‑based, hands‑on learning opportunities tied to social studies and science standards.

District coordinators said they purposely chose resources already in use so teachers would not face wholesale new programs when the schedule expands. For reading, coordinators said full‑day kindergarten will allow time for extension activities, small‑group instruction and daily writing practice. For math, coordinators said the additional time permits deeper work on number sense, shape and spatial reasoning and more sustained problem solving.

Presenters described classroom routines: short whole‑group instruction, daily decodable readings with comprehension checks, a Chromebook‑based “skill check” that returns live data to teachers, and an extended transfer period with differentiated small groups. Coordinators also described how play‑lab units map to Pennsylvania’s kindergarten standards (the presentation referenced the Pennsylvania Learning Standards for Early Childhood) and how the district is building curriculum maps and Atlas postings for teacher and family access.

Specials (art, music, PE, library and STEAM) will be expanded under the full‑day schedule so that students receive regular weekly blocks (presenters described schedules that provide roughly 40 minutes per specials area across the week). The district said middle‑level and elementary specialists (PE, art, music, library, STEAM) contributed to play‑lab and transfer planning to align literacy and content work across the school day.

Staffing and program questions remain part of implementation planning. Committee members asked how daily minute totals shown in the slide deck will expand to meet a reported 120 minutes of daily ELA referred to by stakeholders; coordinators said the district plans to expand the listed lesson components (for example, extended transfer time, a dedicated writing lesson and additional read‑aloud opportunities) rather than replace them. The district also said homework expectations for kindergarten will be reviewed and likely discussed further with teachers and stakeholders before finalizing guidance.

Nut Graf: The district says the rollout emphasizes continuity—scaling resources already in use—while using the longer day to add small‑group instruction, writing, and extended transfer. Officials presented curriculum maps, assessment plans and next steps for teacher training and digital posting of materials in Atlas.

Committee members pressed for clarification on access to materials. Presenters said paper “tastes” of play‑lab units were being circulated and that full digital materials will be published in Atlas when final edits are complete. Members asked that finalized packet materials be shared with the board and that the district return with more specific minute‑by‑minute scheduling and homework guidance at upcoming stakeholder meetings.

The district did not propose a board vote at the meeting; staff framed this presentation as an update and part of an ongoing implementation process ahead of the 2025–26 launch.

Ending: The presentation closed with coordinators’ pledges to continue stakeholder engagement, finalize curricular maps in Atlas and return to the committee with refined scheduling, materials and staffing proposals for the next meeting.