Shannon Findlay, K–5 English language arts curriculum coordinator for Walpole Public Schools, updated the school committee on implementation of the district’s new K–5 literacy program, HMH Into Reading, adopted during last spring’s curriculum review.

Findlay said Into Reading pairs a knowledge-building approach with strategy instruction and is being used alongside the district’s systematic phonics program, Foundations. “For the word recognition strand, we are staying true to what we have used in the past in terms of our explicit systematic phonics program, Foundations,” she told the committee, adding that Into Reading provides materials and routines to strengthen language comprehension.

The coordinator described the district’s decision to keep its existing assessment landscape for now. Teachers will continue to use I-Ready and DIBELS for early literacy screening (K–3) and I-Ready diagnostics in grades 4–5; Foundations unit assessments remain the phonics checks. Findlay said the district will evaluate Into Reading’s internal assessments alongside the existing tools to determine which reports are most useful.

Findlay described professional learning supports and implementation structures: two in-person consultant days with HMH that include classroom demonstrations and district-wide debriefs, an implementation team with grade-level representatives from each elementary school who receive one-on-one coaching via the Coachly platform, and ongoing coaching cycles. “When teachers want to collaborate even closer, we engage in what’s called a coaching cycle,” Findlay said, describing three- to four-week cycles focused on teacher-specified student goals.

She said the district administered a K–5 informational writing assessment this fall to establish a baseline for text-based informational writing; teacher teams analyzed that work during a December professional-development day to plan next steps. Findlay identified upcoming HMH PD dates on Jan. 17 and a follow-up day in March and said the implementation team will meet again in February and spring. She also described plans to survey students this winter and spring to gather learner feedback.

Findlay acknowledged the first-year status of the rollout and the need to refine assessment choices and teacher supports as the year continues. She said the district will continue to monitor data from Into Reading and existing assessments and adjust professional development accordingly.

Members of the committee asked clarifying questions during the presentation; staff described the district’s layered approach to support teachers and students during the first year of implementation.

Less-critical details: Findlay said implementation-team teachers access one-on-one support through Coachly, and that the district is keeping I-Ready and DIBELS in place while evaluating Into Reading’s own assessment reports.