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Perkiomen Valley SD narrows elementary ELA choices and readies pilots as state literacy laws take effect
Summary
Ms. Rinco told the committee the district has narrowed elementary ELA resources to three vendors for in‑person review and plans a comparative pilot; she also summarized state mandates requiring structured‑literacy training, district curriculum reporting, and screening changes.
Ms. Rinco told the Education Committee the district reviewed roughly 10 elementary ELA resource options this year, narrowed that pool to five for teacher review and then to three for longer, in‑person vendor demonstrations. She said the district hopes to propose a comparative pilot for fall implementation, ideally with at least two teachers per grade level for each resource and a one‑semester pilot period.
“Seventy‑four percent of staff responded that they believe that a new core resource is needed to best support our students,” Ms. Rinco said, summarizing survey feedback that prompted the review.
Ms. Rinco also reviewed recent Pennsylvania literacy actions and their implications. She described Chapter 49 requirements for structured‑literacy professional learning, Act 135’s reading council and resource lists, and said Act 47 requires that staff covered by Chapter 49 complete an accredited structured‑literacy program by the 2028–29 school year and that districts adopt an evidence‑based reading curriculum by 2027–28. She noted the district already conducts K–2 screening (DIBELS) three times a year and is reporting its reading curriculum choice to the state this spring.
A board member asked about staffing for literacy supports. Ms. Rinco said the district currently has one reading specialist in each elementary building and one in each middle school; other literacy‑focused coaching is limited to an early‑learning instructional coach whose title differs but who provides literacy support.
What happens next: administrators will complete the final vendor review, present a recommendation for a comparative pilot and, separately, report the district’s selected curriculum to the state per recent mandates.
