New Haven schools report gains after districtwide HMH rollout; officials say more staff and time still needed

The New Haven Board of Alders’ Education Committee heard a progress report on K–12 literacy on Feb. 26 from New Haven Public Schools staff, who outlined program changes, new assessments and early results showing modest gains districtwide.

District leaders said they selected HMH as the core K–5 program in March 2023 after a multi‑school pilot and community review, then expanded coaching, professional learning and early‑childhood supports. Michelle Evans, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, and literacy supervisors described training for school‑based coaches, LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) facilitator preparation, and online coaching supports that remain available after HMH on‑site coaches left in December.

The district also introduced the full DIBELS 8 suite on the Amplify (mClass) platform and the NWEA MAP as new baseline, nationally normed assessments this academic year. Jennifer Cusigno, elementary and language‑arts supervisor, said Amplify provides a composite DIBELS score and short subtests that allow progress monitoring every two to four weeks for students in the red and yellow bands and that the platform issues lesson plans targeted to identified deficit areas.

District presenters showed multiple measures of growth since 2023. Using Smarter Balanced data, staff reported the percent of students meeting a growth target rose from about 29.3% in 2022–23 to 33.1% in 2023–24; the district’s average percent of target achieved increased from roughly 52.1% to 56%. High school SAT English proficiency rose from 26.8% in 2022–23 to 35.3% the following year, the presentation said. Staff cautioned those assessments are new baselines in some cases and that the district is still “not where we want to be.” (Direct figures and comparisons were presented by district staff during the committee workshop.)

Early‑childhood staff described changes in pre‑K instruction. Vanessa Diaz Valencia noted the district moved pre‑K professional learning beyond compliance to focus on curriculum, instruction, family engagement and culturally responsive pedagogy, adopted Pre‑K Foundations and Hegarty resources, and rolled out early‑childhood LETRS training for all pre‑K teachers.

John C. Daniels School leaders and coaches described classroom implementation at a dual‑language school. Principal Danielle Perez and literacy coach Heather (last name not provided) said Daniels uses daily common planning, a dual‑language coaching team and equitable English/Spanish HMH materials; teachers report being able to examine Amplify and DIBELS item‑level data to form small groups and target instruction. Perez said Daniels schedules 180 minutes of literacy time and uses an A/B rotation in upper elementary grades so English and Spanish instruction each deliver all core components over the cycle.

Board members asked about capacity and staffing to deliver intensive interventions for students furthest from benchmark. Evans and other presenters said the district’s strategy is to (1) strengthen instruction in the core so more students get needed skills in universal instruction, (2) use Amplify’s rapid progress monitoring and targeted lesson plans for tiered intervention, and (3) continue building coaching and administrative capacity so buildings can implement the model with fidelity. District leaders acknowledged resource limits and told the committee the magnitude of staffing needed to deliver daily one‑to‑one interventions at scale remains a constraint; they encouraged Alders’ continued support when the district requests additional positions or funds.

The presentation closed with next steps: expanding structured‑literacy professional learning across K–1 and in bi‑literacy schools next year, a renewed emphasis on writing and on play‑based learning in pre‑K, and continued use of Data‑Wise teams and integrated multi‑tiered systems of support to align academic and behavioral interventions.

The committee followed the presentation with questions from Alders about sustaining play‑based learning, staffing models to provide tiered interventions, and the impact of summer bridge programming on ninth‑grade transition outcomes. District staff said Summer Bridge funded with ESSER dollars contributed to stronger ninth‑grade growth last year and noted reduced summer bridge offerings this year because of budget constraints.

District presenters and school leaders emphasized that the data show measurable movement but that further staffing and time are required to reach the district’s longer‑term targets established in its Strategic Operating Plan through 2029.