Wallingford-Swarthmore launches K–5 ELA pilot; narrows candidates to Benchmark Advance and Arts and Letters

Wallingford-Swarthmore School District presented a plan to pilot two K–5 English/language arts (ELA) core programs and to continue implementing the 95% Group word-study program in grades 3–5, district staff said at the Educational Affairs Committee meeting.

The district narrowed 21 initial options to two finalists — Benchmark Advance (Benchmark Education Company) and Arts and Letters (Great Minds) — and will run a voluntary classroom pilot for both programs from Feb. 10 to April 4, with results and a recommendation to the district finance committee planned for late April, administrators said.

"Our goal is to improve the continuity and fidelity of our elementary literacy programming, and this will create equitable learning experiences across the three elementary buildings," said Bridget Walsh, one of three literacy Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSAs) who presented the work. The TOSAs described weekly communications, teacher-facing pacing guides and crosswalk lessons designed to prepare students for the 95% Group sequence.

Presenters said district assessment data show that while students in kindergarten through grade 2 make expected fall-to-spring growth on MAP RIT scores, the district’s grades 3–5 students show declines in national percentile ranks when compared with peers nationally — a pattern the team cited as a primary reason to investigate a new K–5 core.

Teacher survey results presented by the TOSAs showed mixed views of existing materials: roughly 82% of teachers in grades 3–5 reported being neutral or satisfied with the 95% Group’s word-recognition components after about one month of implementation, while only about 15% of respondents said they were satisfied with the district’s current writing units and roughly 4% were satisfied with existing reading units.

To gather classroom evidence, the district said it invited 15 volunteer teachers per publisher (30 teachers total) to pilot each program; teachers may opt out. Presenters said one teacher has already opted out of Arts and Letters and two teachers have opted out of Benchmark Advance. The district has sent letters to families of pilot students and scheduled biweekly feedback meetings with principals and the TOSAs.

Administrators described practical hurdles and timeline constraints: vendor shipments of physical materials were arriving in late January and February, publishers donated most materials except some teacher editions, and the district plans to present a finance-committee recommendation by April 23 with a formal recommendation by April 28 so teachers will have materials and at least one professional development session before summer.

Committee members asked about how a new core would integrate with the 95% Group and with K–2 foundations. Presenters said Benchmark Advance includes explicit phonics and foundational skills in its lessons and offers differentiation and supports for English-language learners; Arts and Letters focuses on knowledge-building and comprehension and would require a complementary phonics component (such as the 95% Group or existing K–2 foundations).

District leaders emphasized that the pilot is voluntary, that teachers retain classroom autonomy, and that selection will follow review of pilot feedback and classroom observation data. No formal adoption vote was taken at the meeting.

What’s next: the pilot runs through April 4 with biweekly check-ins; principals will conduct walkthroughs and the TOSAs will collect teacher and student feedback. The district plans to return a recommendation to the finance committee in late April and to continue coaching and professional learning if a program is selected.