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Peoria Unified lays out literacy push, new courses and Project Citizen in academic update
Summary
Superintendent and academic staff presented a strategic update Sept. 11 outlining literacy and math strategies, a k–3 early-literacy intervention pilot at three schools, a 7th-grade accelerated math rollout and a new Project Citizen civics program for junior high.
Peoria Unified School District officials presented a broad academic update at the Sept. 11 governing-board meeting that outlined priorities, baseline assessment results and short-term steps the district will take to improve student achievement.
Dr. Carolyn Hernandez, executive director of learning and teaching, anchored the presentation in the district’s strategic framework and said the central goal is to increase core-content proficiency at least 3 percentage points over baseline. Hernandez highlighted several near-term initiatives: an early-literacy interventionist model at Frontier, Coyote Hills and Vistancia elementaries; a district-developed literacy endorsement program for teachers; seventh-grade accelerated math ("7a"); and a new Project Citizen civics learning competition at the junior-high level.
Hernandez said the district’s beginning-of-year STAR reading and math data show small but noticeable changes compared with last year and stressed that projections from STAR are not final outcomes: "Projections aren't locked in. There is still ample time to make instructional changes that change how we're delivering instruction and support our learners," she said.
On literacy, Hernandez explained that third-grade English language arts outcomes reflect cumulative K–3 instruction and that the district is piloting a targeted intervention role in three schools to provide tier 2 and 3 supports for second- and third-graders. She described the district’s emphasis on "best first instruction" and systematic phonics and said the Peoria team plans to submit an internal literacy-endorsement program for state approval by spring, with an expected rollout in 2026 for teachers needing the endorsement by 2028.
On math, Hernandez reported that early grades show improvement on the STAR math projection compared with last year, while high-school math projections are flat. The new 7a accelerated-seventh-grade option was described as expanded after strong interest from families and principals. Hernandez said the district will continue professional learning for conceptual math instruction at upper elementary and middle grades and examine high-school scheduling and pre-AP course implementation.
Hernandez also described new curriculum work in social studies and science, plans to revitalize a high-school science fair and a multi-year look at adding one science credit per year in high school. She noted the district’s ongoing work with identified schools that had been placed in targeted or comprehensive improvement status by the Arizona Department of Education and said preliminary indicators suggest several schools may exit improvement status based on recent data.
Board members asked for follow-up information on pilot evaluation timelines, summer-academy impacts, and how district assessments link to state tests; Hernandez said program evaluations for summer academy and the early-literacy roles are underway and that staff will return with data. No votes were taken on instructional changes; the presentation was provided for board discussion and to set the direction for follow-up actions.
