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SMS teachers report changes to classroom practice after Plain Talk literacy conference; district to pilot knowledge-building curricula
Summary
Four Stratham Memorial School educators told the school board that national literacy conferences led them to change classroom practice and that the district is exploring knowledge-building literacy curricula for next year.
Four Stratham Memorial School teachers and specialists described professional-development trips that they said changed classroom practice and prompted curriculum planning.
Kaylee Anacopoulos, a speech and language pathologist, and colleagues reported roughly 60 hours of professional development at Plain Talk about Literacy and Learning, an event organized by the Center for Literacy and Learning. “Plain Talk is one of the nation’s premier conferences on literacy instruction,” Anacopoulos said. She emphasized the conference focus on the intersection of language and brain science and noted the research-backed idea that written language is not innate and must be explicitly taught.
Second-grade teachers Ashley Paige and Jen Hackett and special educator Carla Brewer described how the conference reinforced explicit and systematic instruction in decoding, encoding, morphology and comprehension through vocabulary and background knowledge. “When we are teaching reading, we’re also doing the writing to reinforce vocabulary, structure and meaning,” Paige said. Hackett said teachers returned to classrooms and revised instruction immediately: “The more words kids can learn, the easier it is for them to read because they’re not spending time decoding unknown words.”
Jess Wentworth, who is on a sabbatical, said her work includes reviewing literacy and social studies curriculums and supporting grade-level teams in unit planning and field-trip design. Wentworth said district staff are exploring knowledge-building literacy programs for 2025–26 and mapping how literacy curricula can support science and social studies competencies.
Why it matters: Presenters said the conference material pushed the district to center both reading and writing (“true literacy”), prioritizing explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and background knowledge to support comprehension and equity. Administrators noted the district is considering pilot curricula and will discuss costs, lesson plans and implementation logistics.
Board response and next steps: Board members thanked the staff for attending and bringing back practices; administrators said they would present recommended pilot curricula and budget implications as part of next year’s planning and curriculum committee work. No formal vote was taken at the meeting.
