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District adopts StudySync for secondary ELA, expands K–5 Benchmark implementation; LETRS training underway
Summary
District directors told the Richfield Public Schools board the district will adopt McGraw Hill StudySync for core 6–12 English language arts, has implemented Benchmark Advance/Adelante in K–5, and is progressing through LETRS professional development and a social studies review.
Alex Ward, director of secondary education, and Rachel Jones, director of elementary education, briefed the Richfield Public Schools board on April 21 about curriculum selections, professional development and instructional monitoring for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 school years.
Ward told the board that both Richfield Middle School (RMS) and Richfield High School (RHS) plan to adopt McGraw Hill StudySync as the district’s core ELA materials for grades 6–12. “Moving forward, both RMS and RHS would like to use McGraw Hill StudySync materials,” Ward said, citing alignment to the Minnesota English Language Arts standards, EdReports evaluations and the curriculum’s pedagogical framework that supports vertical and horizontal alignment across grades.
At the elementary level, Rachel Jones said the district implemented Benchmark Advance and Benchmark Adelante in kindergarten through fifth grade after a pilot. The elementary team supplemented the materials with culturally responsive interactive read‑aloud texts vetted by the district’s Indigenous Parent Advisory Committee and the Richfield Latino Family Association.
Jones reported progress on the district’s LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) professional development rollout. “About 78 percent of our phase 1 staff have either completed or are on track to complete volume 1,” she said; she added that 86 percent of phase 1 staff have completed or will complete the in‑person volume 2 training this school year. District staff said a smaller phase 2 cohort (grades 6–12 teachers responsible for reading instruction and multilingual teacher specialists) will await guidance from the Minnesota Department of Education and may begin training in 2026.
Ward described the 6–12 ELA selection process: secondary teachers built evaluation rubrics, reviewed EdReports analyses, field‑tested demo accounts and chose StudySync because the materials align with the science of reading, include elements for writing, listening and speaking, and allow teacher choice — the district expects to use StudySync for roughly 70 percent of core materials and retain 30 percent teacher‑created or supplementary texts to add culturally relevant content.
The team outlined implementation supports: training in June or August, summer curriculum writing sessions to align StudySync to district rubrics and grading policies, and targeted supplemental purchases for vocabulary, grammar and comprehension supports.
Staff also updated the board on social studies curriculum review (elementary work to begin in 2025–26; secondary review already underway) and shared findings from district learning walks. Key instructional priorities for next year include improved instructional clarity, systematic multi‑sensory phonics at the elementary level, expanded vocabulary and oral language instruction, and at the secondary level stronger formative assessment practices, academic discussion and increased attention to social‑emotional learning and positive behavior recognition.
Board members asked about long‑form texts in secondary courses, print vs digital access to novels, and whether StudySync provides adequate vocabulary and foundational supports; staff responded that StudySync includes those elements but the district will supplement where necessary to address diverse student needs.
No formal board action was taken on the curriculum presentation; policy and adoption motions appear elsewhere on the agenda for subsequent consideration.
