Shakopee school board adopts UFLI for K–2, 95 Phonics for grades 3–5

The Shakopee Public School District School Board voted March 24 to adopt a two-part foundational literacy program for elementary students, approving UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Initiative) for kindergarten through second grade and 95 Phonics for grades 3–5.

The adoption — moved by Board Member Brophy and seconded by Board Member Valdez — passed on a voice vote. The district presentation described the change as the result of a two‑year evaluation and local pilots across multiple elementary buildings.

Why it matters: district leaders said the new materials are intended to provide a systematic, evidence‑based Tier 1 (core) reading program to improve early detection of reading needs, standardize instruction across sites and support targeted interventions for students who do not make expected progress.

Nicola Summer, assistant director for LTE (elementary), who led the teacher advisory work, told the board the recommendation followed a comprehensive needs assessment and on‑site pilots. “This is two years in the making. We are finally here tonight; I’m very excited to be here and present a recommendation on behalf of our teacher team,” Summer said during the meeting.

Summer and others said the teacher team used state and national guidance and a scoring rubric to rate candidate programs. The board heard that UFLI was selected for K–2 because kindergarten and first grade teachers reported faster measurable results during the pilot and because UFLI is designed specifically for early decoding and phoneme instruction. “UFLI does not go beyond second grade, so we knew we needed something for grades 3 through 5,” Summer told the board when explaining why the district is pairing the two programs.

District staff outlined next steps if the board approved the recommendation: continuing pilot implementation for the remainder of the school year, planning expanded summer and fall professional development for teachers, developing pacing guides and teacher instructional hubs, and updating assessment and report‑card language to align to the new instruction. The board was told the teacher team recommended a five‑year contract period to allow time for training, fidelity monitoring and expected growth in student performance.

Board members asked how the change would align with early childhood partners, substitute and new teacher training, and the district’s approach for secondary students who still show foundational gaps. Summer said the district plans to coordinate with early childhood providers and offered that state‑funded cohorts and local facilitation capacity will be used to train newly hired and long‑term substitute teachers. The district currently has six internal facilitators trained to provide ongoing UFLI instruction and coaching.

Several board members voiced support for the recommendation and for the district’s phased approach to roll out foundational skills this year with a later recommendation for language‑comprehension curriculum.

Outcome and implementation notes: the motion to adopt UFLI (K–2) and 95 Phonics (3–5) carried. If implemented as planned, staff will continue piloting, finalize professional development schedules and return with additional implementation details, including training logistics and assessment alignment, ahead of full fall rollout.

Votes at a glance: Motion to adopt foundational skills (UFLI K–2; 95 Phonics 3–5) — mover: Brophy; second: Valdez; outcome: approved (voice vote).