Haverford teachers and principals urge end to elementary ELA tracking; board hears plan to 'unlevel' fourth and fifth grades

Teachers and elementary principals in the Haverford Township School District presented an information item to the school board on unleveling — ending ability-based grouping — for fourth- and fifth-grade English language arts (ELA), describing classroom experience with heterogeneous grouping, curriculum supports and next steps for family communication.

The presentation, delivered by a group of elementary principals and classroom teachers, framed unleveling as a move to reduce early tracking and to use the district’s Wit & Wisdom ELA curriculum together with MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) and “Win Time” intervention blocks. "Students deserve the opportunity to gain knowledge and perspective from peers at all levels," said Hannah Carroll, a third-grade teacher at Chestnutwalt Elementary School. Carroll added: "We are deciding when a student is 9 years old... what track they should be on for the rest of elementary school and sometimes beyond."

The teachers and principals said they saw an opportunity to revisit leveling after the district’s COVID-era cohorting, which temporarily produced more mixed‑ability…