District: Amplify CKLA shows early literacy gains; coaching and PLCs central to rollout
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Presenters told the Curriculum Committee that Amplify CKLA implementation at K–4 (year 2) and fifth grade (year 1) is producing stronger teacher confidence, better formative assessments and student retention of skills; district will continue coaching, PD and differentiation supports.
District staff reported early positive results from implementing Amplify CKLA in elementary grades and described coaching and PLC structures used to sustain the program.
Adrian Schneider introduced the literacy update and said the district is not sharing specific STAR assessment data at this meeting but is reporting early anecdotal and formative gains. "We are not going to be sharing, specific, like star data, things like that tonight, but just more anecdotal things that we're seeing early on right now," Schneider said.
Corinne Tice, literacy specialist at Decorah, said K–4 teachers in their second year with CKLA show increased confidence and more intentional instruction; teachers are using formative checks in‑lesson and a 30‑minute "win time" to reteach or accelerate students based on daily data. At Silverbrook (first‑year implementation), Erin Spathe said visits to other elementary sites helped accelerate staff readiness and that teachers are becoming more confident after repeated lesson delivery.
Presenters highlighted classroom outcomes they described as early wins: stronger retention of skills across breaks, growth in vocabulary and background knowledge, increased student stamina for sustained reading and higher‑level writing, and more consistent use of formative assessment to inform instruction. Corinne Tice said that in some classrooms kindergarten students are reading full text and that teachers are seeing knowledge carry forward year to year.
Coaching and PLCs were cited as essential to maintaining fidelity. Presenters described literacy specialists co‑planning lessons, offering non‑evaluative observations and leading PLCs that are increasingly focused on student data rather than troubleshooting logistics. The district said it will continue Amplify PD sessions during upcoming professional development days, sustain literacy coaching at all grades, and attend to differentiation and scaffolds for varied learners.
Committee members expressed appreciation for the focus on coaching and teacher leadership; no formal actions were recorded.