William Penn SD outlines ELA curriculum pilot results, opens community feedback through Feb. 23

William Penn School District staff on Tuesday presented interim results from elementary and secondary English/language-arts curriculum pilots and opened a short public feedback window ahead of a district recommendation.

Miss Toakley (curriculum lead) listed pilot placements by campus: Ardmore piloted Savvas MyView (K–5); East Lansdowne piloted HMH Into Reading (K–5); Evans and Park Lane piloted McGraw Hill/Wonders (K–5) and supported sixth-grade connections for secondary; non-piloting schools continued Wonders 2020.

Using MAP assessment snapshots from the start of the year to midyear, Toakley reported percent-proficient growth for several cohorts: non-piloting schools 37% to 47%; Evans and Park Lane (Wonders 2023) 38% to 46%; Ardmore (MyView) 39% to 41%; East Lansdowne (HMH Into Reading) 46% to 52%.

Toakley summarized teacher survey feedback and principal recommendations. She cautioned that some teacher results were from small samples—"we have only 7 responses" for certain teacher surveys—and that leaders' views varied. For Wonders 2023, many teachers noted routine familiarity and strong tools but also requested more phonics and tighter pacing; principal Fields recommended Wonders 2023 with updates while principal Catherine Smith did not recommend it.

Ardmore’s MyView was praised for theme-based structure, decodable readers, and sustained professional development; school leaders broadly supported adopting MyView at Ardmore with reservations. East Lansdowne’s HMH Into Reading drew strong marks for foundational reading and the Emera intervention; Toakley said roughly 70% recommended it "with reservations" and that several third-grade students showed notable growth when Emera was used alongside interventions.

Secondary pilots (two sixth-grade and ninth-grade teacher pilots) offered mixed results. HMH Into Literature at Penwood Ninth Grade Academy showed high student engagement and effective lesson structure; McGraw Hill StudySync offered scaffolding and split-screen text but had long assessments and limited full-text access without extra purchases. Teacher and leader recommendations on StudySync split roughly 50/50; school leaders were more likely to withhold recommendation citing platform navigation and assessment concerns.

Toakley said a fuller package (slides, survey feedback, and recommendations) will be posted as a self-guided presentation on Tuesday, February 17, and the district will accept community feedback through a short survey closing Feb. 23 to inform a recommendation for the 2026–27 school year. Board members asked about compliance with recent literacy legislation and device compatibility; Toakley said the pilots and current curriculum satisfy the statutory structured-literacy requirement and run on district Chromebooks. Budget quotes for one-, three- and five-year purchases exist and will be revisited after a curriculum choice is made.

Next procedural steps: district will publish pilot data and teacher feedback on Feb. 17, accept community survey responses through Feb. 23, then present a recommendation to the board for adoption in time for the 2026–27 school-year procurement cycle.