Revere Local staff recommend Frog Street for preschool; board heard first reading and asked for text review

Revere Local School District staff presented the Frog Street comprehensive preschool curriculum to the school board and recommended it as the district’s preschool program following a year-long pilot; the board treated the presentation as a first reading and took no adoption vote.

The recommendation matters because Revere’s preschool program—serving 3- to 5-year-olds at Richfield Elementary—carries state licensing obligations and an accreditation rating. A district staff member noted the preschool “passed [the state] licensing review” last week and that the program holds “a gold rating through Step Up to Quality,” signaling state-level quality benchmarks for early learning.

Staff described how the district piloted two curricula during 2024–25, starting the year with Frog Street and shifting in January to Pre K On My Way to compare strengths and gaps. A preschool curriculum presenter summarized the findings: “For Frog Street, we found that the strengths there were the comprehensive program, the alignment with instructional goals, weekly themes that reinforce the learning concepts... strong alignment with the phonemic awareness, specifically Heggerty,” and that Frog Street also supported “positive behavior expectations that focused on the whole child.” The presenter added a concern: “The challenges that we found were the texts… very lengthy. Preschoolers don't have that much attention span.”

By contrast, staff said Pre K On My Way offered a detailed scope and sequence but “there was no alignment with the phonemic awareness program,” lacked the same positive behavior emphasis, and had weaker assessment alignment. The presenters said the district’s preschool teachers found Frog Street easier to adapt to Revere classrooms and student needs.

Staff outlined a planned implementation path if the board advances the recommendation: professional development and teacher support at the start of the 2025–26 school year and a commitment to revisit and revise individual text selections during that first year. “During that initial year 25–26 to review the text selections and be able to come back to the board,” the presenter said, adding the team would use assessments and observational data to inform any text changes.

Board members asked how the pilot was run; staff said they split the academic year—Frog Street in the first semester and Pre K On My Way in the second—so teachers experienced both programs. Teachers on the panel also told the board they have substantial classroom libraries and expect to supplement or substitute texts where engagement or cultural relevance is a concern.

Because the curriculum item was listed as item G on the agenda and identified in the meeting as a first read, the board did not adopt Frog Street at this meeting. Staff said they will return with any recommended text changes after the initial implementation and after collecting assessment data in 2025–26.

The board received the preschool presentation and related discussion during the public meeting; there was no formal vote on adoption at this session.

Looking ahead, staff said professional development and classroom supports will be priorities if the board moves forward with Frog Street, and the district will report back to the board with any proposed text adjustments and assessment results during the 2025–26 school year.