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Kindergarten teachers report early gains after CKLA adoption; district plans summer practice
Summary
District kindergarten teachers told the board the CKLA phonics curriculum and decodable readers are improving early-reading skills; staff cited positive FastBridge screening trends and plans to provide Boost practice over the summer to stem "summer slide."
Kindergarten teachers and district staff told the Mount Horeb Area School District board that a shift toward CKLA (a science-of-reading approach) and the use of decodable readers is producing early gains in students' phonemic awareness and decoding skills.
Presenters showed classroom examples and a short video demonstrating students using large-letter cards, individual folders for manipulating phonemes and decodable texts. Teachers said the program emphasizes explicit phonics instruction and handwriting practice as part of the skills strand, paired with knowledge-building units (plants, senses, stories) that support vocabulary and comprehension.
Assessment context: Staff cited FastBridge and other screening data showing classroom-level improvement from fall to winter; the presenters said roughly 76.6–82.4 percent of recent cohorts were classified as low risk on screening at different points in the year and noted a spring dip the district intends to study further. Teachers also said some students who initially required speech or other specialized services may no longer need them under the integrated approach; they said longer-term outcomes will be clearer in two to three years.
Teachers asked questions about continuity with pull-out speech services and whether the new materials reduce referrals; staff said it is too early to know definitive referral-rate trends and that the district expects to evaluate impact over several years. The board thanked the kindergarten team and suggested sharing brief classroom videos with the board and community.
District follow-up: Staff said families will have access to the Boost program for summer practice to limit "summer slide," and principals will continue building-level interventions and triangulated assessments to measure growth.
Speakers quoted or referenced: Kirk Nichols (introduced to the board as part of the kindergarten team), classroom teachers and district literacy/presentation team.
