West Chester Area SD committee approves contracts for youth leadership, literacy pilots and research support
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Summary
The committee approved a $99,000 Army of Leaders contract to run a student‑led belonging conference, a structured‑literacy pilot with the AIM Institute for K–2 teachers, an AmeriCorps‑funded Reading Assist tutoring pilot at East Goshen Elementary, and a three‑year Hanover Research partnership.
The West Chester Area School District Teaching, Learning & Equity Committee approved four staff‑recommended contracts during its November meeting.
Dr. Brown presented a contract with Army of Leaders, led by Lori Hayes, to work virtually with student leaders across the district and to prepare a student‑run belonging conference; the cost cited during the meeting was $99,000 and the engagement runs into February. The contract was approved by committee vote, 3–0.
The committee also approved a pilot with the AIM Institute to provide structured‑literacy professional learning for K–2 teachers in three elementary schools. Staff called the contract a pilot, with three full‑day training sessions and follow‑up coaching; success metrics will include Acadience benchmark growth and the district’s formative/summative assessments.
A Reading Assist (AmeriCorps‑funded) tutoring program was approved to provide two fellows at East Goshen Elementary to deliver 30‑minute structured literacy sessions for K–3 students; the grant funds the fellows. Staff described the program as a pilot at a Title I building with plans to evaluate impact and expand if successful.
Finally, the committee approved a three‑year (2026–2029) contract with Hanover Research to provide a research database and project support for district instructional questions and scheduling analyses. Staff noted Hanover could help with on‑demand data digs and program evaluation.
All four contracts were approved by voice votes recorded as 3–0.