Mahomet‑Seymour teachers recommend Amplify CKLA for K–5 after 18‑month review; board to consider April 22

The Mahomet‑Seymour CUSD 3 Board of Education heard on March 24 from a teacher-led elementary literacy team that it will recommend Amplify CKLA (third edition) as the district’s K–5 core literacy curriculum, keeping UFLY for K–2. The board did not vote on the adoption at the meeting; the district plans to bring the recommendation to a formal vote at the April 22 board meeting.

The literacy team — about 40 teachers, coaches and administrators who spent six full days in district training and multiple site visits to see curricula in action — told the board the change responds to the “science of reading” and local assessment results. The team described a lengthy selection process that included needs analyses, two rounds of curriculum narrowing, two site visits (Dunlap and Washington school districts) and multiple rubrics aligned to the district’s vision for literacy instruction. "Teacher voice matters," the team said repeatedly in its presentation, and teachers described the process as “empowering.”

Why it matters: District leaders and the team said the proposal aims to strengthen tier‑1 instruction, build background knowledge and vocabulary across grades, and better align instruction to the Illinois Literacy Plan and state assessments such as the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). Board members were told the change is intended to improve reading outcomes that the team said lag behind statewide expectations in some early grades.

What the team recommended and why - Materials: Amplify CKLA (third edition) for grades K–5, with the UFLY phonics/skills strand retained for K–2. Team leaders said the K–2 UFLY pilot had already shown positive classroom results. - Rationale: Presenters emphasized research grounding in the “science of reading” (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension), stronger content knowledge and integrated social studies/science units. “It’s not a fad,”…