Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum Adoption topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Upper Darby narrows elementary ELA adoption to three finalists; pilot planned for fall 2025
Summary
Upper Darby School District staff presented an update on the elementary English language arts adoption process and reported that the review has been narrowed to three final programs.
Upper Darby School District staff presented an update on the elementary English language arts (ELA) adoption process and reported that the review has been narrowed to three final programs.
Staff said the district started with roughly nine options, narrowed to five and then to three after a multi-stage review using the Florida Center for Reading Research rubric and district priorities. The three finalists are InterReading Version 3 (an update from the district’s current InterReading Version 1), a combined Arts & Letters plus Really Great Reading package, and Benchmark Advance. Staff said samples were distributed to buildings and that more than 40 stakeholders—including classroom teachers, reading specialists, special-education and English-learner teachers—have participated in the review.
Kristen O’Neil, who led the deeper review phase, said the district is considering a targeted pilot beginning in September 2025 and expects to present a recommendation to the board by November 2025 for a full implementation in the 2026–27 school year. She said the pilot process will follow the district administrative regulation for piloting materials and that the district is surveying stakeholders about interest; she reported roughly 65% of participants expressed interest in piloting.
Board members raised scheduling and intervention questions. Dr. McGarry and presenters noted that some comprehensive programs are designed for 120–150 minutes of ELA instruction while the district’s current schedule typically provides 90 minutes for the core ELA block (plus separate MTSS time). Staff said the pilot and implementation planning will need to address how the program’s recommended instructional time aligns with building schedules and with the district’s MTSS and intervention matrix (for example, Foundations and Word Study Studio are existing interventions that may be adjusted depending on the adoption choice).
No formal adoption vote was taken; the item was informational and staff said they will return with pilot details, parent outreach, and final recommendation.
