District ELA facilitators outline shift to science‑of‑reading practices and update on state standards review

Campbell County School District elementary ELA facilitator Patsy Bray and secondary language arts curriculum facilitator Lisa Maffei presented a district update on English language arts instruction and professional development at the board meeting.

“We rely heavily on this visual, which Alice Scarborough created to really illustrate that process of how a skilled reader is created,” Bray said, referencing Scarborough’s Reading Rope as the organizing model for instruction. She described three district goals: build foundational skills, build background knowledge and vocabulary, and build teacher expertise in literacy best practices.

Bray told trustees the district provides Heggerty for phonemic awareness in kindergarten through second grade, Fundations for phonics and fluency, and Handwriting Without Tears for automatic letter formation. The district also has adopted the National Geographic Panorama science‑content reader for grades K–6 to build background knowledge and vocabulary in a coordinated sequence.

“Each topic in that science resource revolves around a big question,” Bray said, explaining that Panorama supplies nonfiction and fiction text sets and teacher resources for comprehension, vocabulary and writing aligned to the district pacing guide.

Maffei said secondary instruction emphasizes the transition from learning to read to reading to learn: students focus on complex grade‑level texts, close reading and writing, disciplinary vocabulary and text‑dependent questioning. She described “year‑long plans” that identify priority standards, nonnegotiable texts and assessment checkpoints to ensure a guaranteed and viable curriculum across grade levels.

District staff addressed professional development: Bray said four district staff are certified to train teachers in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) and that an initial cohort of about 25 teachers began training this year; the district also reported significant staff participation in state reading trainings.

Board members asked whether the chosen texts and approaches will sustain students’ long‑term reading habits; facilitators said teachers still provide independent reading opportunities while using rigorous classroom texts to build vocabulary and comprehension.

The presenters also described their participation in the Wyoming Department of Education’s ELA standards review, noting the state’s effort to reduce and align standards and the district’s role in providing feedback. Maffei said the state is working to identify the essential standards that will be the focus of future assessments and that districts will need to deconstruct and vertically align any adopted changes.

Closing: Trustees thanked the facilitators and discussed next steps for implementation and monitoring of outcomes, including continuing professional development and periodic review of materials and assessment results.