District presents K–12 literacy overhaul: new curricula, coaches, libraries and community partnerships
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Summary
District instructional leaders presented a K–12 literacy strategy that pairs new research-aligned materials with coaching, library collections and community partners to increase reading and writing proficiency.
District officials from the Office of Teaching and Learning presented an expanded, systemwide literacy plan covering PreK–12, including curriculum adoption, assessments and community partnerships.
"Literacy is really the foundation for all learning across all content areas," said Dr. Linda Chisholm, director of the Office of Teaching and Learning, opening the presentation. She and colleagues described a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to align leadership, instructional practice, assessments and data visualization so principals and teachers can monitor progress.
The district is using research-aligned resources across K–5: Heggerty for phonemic awareness, Foundations for structured literacy instruction, Geodes (decodable readers) and the WITS & WISDOM modules that build background knowledge and writing skills. Presenters said reading teachers, AIS (academic intervention service) staff and literacy coaches are assigned across buildings; the district now has 11 literacy/ELA coaches K–12 to support classroom implementation.
The presentation highlighted library and community programs: the district distributed Scholastic book-lending libraries for students in PreK–5 in English and Spanish, added the Rising Voices collections to elementary libraries (including a newly arrived Haitian Creole collection), and partners with the Schenectady County Public Library on programs such as Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and STARS (Schenectady Takes Action for Reading Success). The district also described author visits and in-school events tied to curriculum modules.
Presenters said the district is monitoring multiple data points (i-Ready benchmarks, common assessments and classroom walkthrough data) and building a data-visualization tool to provide timely information to teachers and leaders. They noted the science-of-reading alignment and a multi-year implementation timeline; staff said full impact typically becomes visible after about three years of curriculum implementation.
Board members and staff asked about supports for advanced readers and for students with disabilities or multilingual learners. Presenters said they intend to form committees to amplify differentiated and accelerated offerings, and that ELL and special-education staff have access to the same resources and digital platforms (for example Geodes) to reinforce instruction and practice.
The Office of Teaching and Learning said it will continue professional development, including in-house certification for Foundations trainers through Wilson training, and encouraged continued family–community partnerships to put books into homes.
No formal board vote was required for the curriculum status update; the presentation served as an informational progress report on literacy work.
