Ames school board approves $45,000 pilot of 95% Group phonics materials over objections from veteran teachers

The Ames Community School District Board of Directors voted 4-1 on Sept. 22 to approve a purchase order of roughly $45,000 to pilot elementary literacy materials from 95% Group, including professional development for classroom teachers.

District staff said the purchase would allow a committee of teachers and specialists to pilot a second set of materials alongside Benchmark Advance to better evaluate options for a scheduled elementary literacy adoption.

The board's decision follows public comments from veteran classroom teachers who urged the district to continue using Foundations, the phonics-based program the district already owns. Marie Shipley, a second-grade teacher at Kate Mitchell Elementary, told the board that Foundations had produced “tremendous growth” in her students and that the district already holds materials and phonemic-awareness supports she said are missing from 95% Group. “I just am strongly, strongly asking that we not go on with the 95% phonics because it is a disjustice to students,” Shipley said.

Brianna Voss, a 26-year classroom teacher and parent, said her building saw consistent gains while implementing Foundations with fidelity and warned that the proposed pilot materials would cost “$45 to $50,000” for a single classroom pilot. “Please do not purchase another phonics program that will cost our district thousands of dollars, and in the end, might not even be worth it when we already own the best program,” Voss said.

District staff defended the recommendation. An unnamed associate superintendent told the board the recommendation was not solely administrative but the product of a larger review: “17 out of the 18 people on the committee decided, yes, this is a curriculum that we feel like we should pilot.” The associate superintendent said the committee used a rubric aligned with best-practice guidance (including materials from the Reading League and the Iowa Reading Research Center) and that piloting materials would help the district choose an approach that is implementable across schools.

Staff said the $45,000 purchase would buy materials the district may keep after the pilot and noted the committee intends to pair any sounding‑out/phonics program with complementary materials addressing language comprehension. The district explained the curriculum review is part of a regular seven‑year cycle; staff said the review team includes grade‑level teachers, instructional coaches, interventionists and principals and that the long-term goal is to select a cohesive set of materials for K–5 instruction.

Board member Smith moved to approve the procurement; Virbaum seconded. The motion carried 4–1.

Board members and staff said the purchase order does not commit the district to full adoption of 95% Group; it funds a pilot to offer teachers experience with the materials before a final adoption decision.

The board will receive pilot results and continued updates through the curriculum review process. The district plans further meetings of the review committee in October to evaluate materials that address language‑comprehension components needed to pair with any phonics program.

Ending: The decision sets the district on a path of side‑by‑side piloting; opponents urged more investment in training and implementation for Foundations instead of paying for a second program.