Board hears unanimous committee recommendation to adopt CKLA for elementary ELA; first reading scheduled
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Summary
The board received a first reading of a recommendation to adopt Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) for K–5 after a year-long pilot. Adoption committee members said teachers and families reported higher student engagement and knowledge building; the item remains a first reading and will return for final action.
The Peninsula School District held a first reading April 22 on a recommendation from its elementary adoption committee to adopt Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) for kindergarten through fifth-grade English language arts.
The adoption team — representing 23 classroom teachers, literacy facilitators and administrators — recommended CKLA after more than a year of piloting and review that included teacher, student and family surveys and program assessments. “The committee made a unanimous decision,” Natalie Boyle, the district’s elementary director of teaching and learning, told the board.
Why it matters: District staff said CKLA pairs knowledge-building units (science, social studies, literature) with foundational-skill instruction in ways that align with the district’s science-of-reading work and LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional learning. Pilot teachers reported increased student engagement, cross-unit connections, and stronger vocabulary and knowledge gains that carried into reading and writing.
What the committee found
- Pilot scope: 37 teachers participated in fall and winter pilots across most elementary schools. The committee analyzed student work, program assessments, and listening and survey data from families and teachers.
- Teacher reports: Pilot teachers said students were more engaged, asked deeper questions (examples included stronger questions about body systems and salmon biology), and made connections from knowledge lessons to reading and writing. Ashley Tran, a second-grade pilot teacher, said students “were obsessed with Greek myths” and were “making great connections” across lessons.
- Costs and implementation: District staff presented cost comparisons. CKLA (presented as version 3, an updated edition) was shown as an integrated package (teacher materials, student materials and consumables) with a multi-year adoption cycle and significant materials costs; staff emphasized that professional learning would be phased across several years rather than a single training event.
Next steps: This was a first reading; the item will return for a second reading and possible adoption at a future meeting. Board members asked about alignment to state standards and to state assessment timing; staff said CKLA is aligned to Common Core State Standards and that Washington’s revised ELA standards (when finalized) would be reviewed for alignment.
Ending: Committee members said they will continue family previews and district professional learning planning while the first-reading process continues. The district plans multi-year implementation support if the board approves adoption.
