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District presents curriculum review: literacy, benchmarks and career-technical expansion highlighted
Summary
Educational Services presented a program review describing district-wide curriculum writing, new benchmark assessments, literacy program adoption for early grades and plans to expand CTE offerings; the presentation covered elementary through secondary program adjustments and MTSS supports.
Educational Services presented the district—program review at the Feb. 12 board meeting, summarizing curriculum development work across elementary and secondary grades, new benchmark assessments, literacy changes and plans to grow career and technical education (CTE).
Program lead Deanna Rinaldi told trustees the district is aligning instructional materials and classroom practice to New York State learning standards and the state—science of reading guidance. She said the district has piloted and adopted new early-literacy materials (the presentation cited H and H and Hegarty for pre-K through first grade) and is building benchmark assessments to run in June using tools including i-Ready.
Why it matters: Rinaldi said the literacy committee has rewritten K-5 ELA curriculum and that benchmark data will help staff target instruction. The presentation also covered elementary departmentalization for fifth grade, revised middle-school electives (including a new START course focused on executive functioning), and a plan to pursue an additional CTE program in technology for 2026-27 with state liaison support and potential Perkins grant eligibility if the district reaches three CTE programs.
She described the district—multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) for academics and behavior as an integrated structure of Tier 1 universal instruction, targeted Tier 2 interventions and intensive Tier 3 supports. Rinaldi said teachers and administrators are cataloguing all curriculum documents in an intranet for staff access and that a new online program-of-study document lists all secondary courses.
During Q&A trustees asked about timelines for curriculum review cycles, early feedback from literacy pilots and data sources used while state assessment participation remains low in some grades. Rinaldi said many curriculum-writing projects were conducted during the school year to ensure broad teacher participation and that benchmark administration in June will produce initial comparative data for planning.
Ending: The board thanked the committee and Rinaldi for the work; no formal action was taken on the program review at the meeting but trustees requested follow-up details on pilot results and implementation timelines.
