Wallingford‑Swarthmore School District officials gave the Education Affairs Committee an update Nov. 11 on a multi‑year curriculum strategy that the district said will include Arts & Letters at the elementary level, an expanded 95% structured‑literacy program and a pilot rollout of College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) and Reveal Math at secondary levels.

Anthony Gabriel, the district’s director of teaching, learning and innovation, described the plan as a phased three‑year implementation in which year one is "learn," year two is "deepen" and year three is "know." He said the district is pairing on‑site professional learning with custom coaching and that administrators are trying "to be responsive to teacher need, not reactive." Gabriel said building teams have completed classroom walkthroughs and module‑level assessments and that the district intends to continue visits and model lessons through spring.

Why it matters: The changes affect daily instruction across kindergarten through grade 12 and will shape what students are taught and how teachers are trained for several years. Committee members pressed staff for more frequent and detailed progress reports before the district commits to purchasing curriculum materials beyond pilot resources.

How the pilots work: For secondary math, officials described an extended pilot: algebra and geometry classes are using CPM materials in some classes this year and the district is providing middle‑school algebra teachers access to lessons. Gabriel said CPM adoption would require future funding for workbooks and materials and that the district plans a three‑day professional development sequence focused on collaboration, problem solving and mixed‑practice pedagogy.

Board questions and equity concerns: Members repeatedly asked how the board will know if a pilot is working and whether results will be disaggregated by race and special‑education status. One member asked specifically that the district report how "Black and Brown and special needs students are doing with this new program." Gabriel said department chairs will collect both qualitative and quantitative data and that the administration can provide updates more frequently than a single end‑of‑year report.

Assessment and timeline: Gabriel told the committee the district uses multiple assessment sources — curriculum‑embedded unit assessments, third‑party MAP testing and state tests such as the PSSA/Keystone sequence — and will view growth across those measures. He said it typically takes about three years to fully implement new curriculum and to see state‑level achievement impacts; interim module assessments are already being used to monitor progress.

Costs and procurement: Committee members asked for clearer information on cost and funding sources for full adoption; Gabriel said the purchase of additional CPM materials would be "pending funding" and that budget implications will be discussed in upcoming facilities and finance meetings. He said the district plans to use existing revenue sources where possible and reallocate spending if needed.

Public comment: Residents at the meeting praised the emphasis on inquiry in science and asked whether 8–12 math teachers will collaborate across levels and how the district will benchmark growth against other districts. Gabriel said grade‑level collaboration begins in January and pointed to MAP as a national norm‑referenced source the district can use to compare performance.

What’s next: The administration said it will return to the committee with a more detailed theory of action and inventory of current materials and will provide a targeted data report to the board at future meetings. The committee scheduled continued conversation and data presentations in December and at forthcoming full‑board meetings.