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District recommends adopting 95% Core Phonics for grades 3–5 after 16-week pilot
Summary
The district recommends adopting 95% Core Phonics as a tier‑1, daily 30‑minute phonics program to complement existing knowledge-building ELA instruction in grades 3–5; pilot data and teacher feedback were presented to the board.
Sheena Conway, the district’s executive director for Humanities and Innovative Learning, presented the recommendation to adopt 95% Core Phonics as a Tier 1 core phonics program for grades 3–5.
Conway said the district identified gaps in explicit phonics and morphology instruction after grade 2 and that 95% is intended to complement — not replace — the district’s knowledge-building ELA curriculum. She described the science-of-reading basis for the recommendation, the program’s 30-minute daily whole-class lessons, and its emphasis on phonological awareness, phonics, morphology (prefixes, suffixes, Greek/Latin roots), and fluency practice. Teachers in K–2 will continue existing phonics programming while 95% would deliver explicit word-recognition instruction for grades 3–5.
A 16-week pilot beginning in February 2025 included 23 teachers across all four buildings for grades 3–5; Conway said the district conducted pre- and post-assessments (including aimsweb and unit-level data) and used an independent rubric informed by organizations such as the Reading League, the Florida Center for Reading Research and the International Dyslexia Association to evaluate content, pedagogy and equity. Conway reported measurement of growth during the pilot and extensive positive qualitative feedback from teachers, including stronger student engagement with word study and assessments that provided actionable data for instruction.
Conway said the program was implemented in inclusive classrooms and special-education settings and that professional learning and job-embedded coaching accompanied the pilot. Board members praised the emphasis on explicit instruction and morphology and asked no substantive follow-ups during the presentation.
Ending: Conway asked the board for questions and said the district will continue training and monitoring implementation if the board approves the adoption.
Note: The transcript records the recommendation and pilot findings; the board discussion on final adoption and vote was not recorded in the provided excerpt.
