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State Board hears experts on ELA curriculum as DCPS pilots CommonLit in middle schools
Summary
At its March 18 meeting the DC State Board of Education convened experts to review English language arts curriculum choices. DCPS described a middle-school CommonLit pilot and evaluation plan; panelists debated whole-book reading versus passage-based approaches and emphasized teacher training and family engagement.
The District of Columbia State Board of Education heard an expert panel March 18 examining English language arts curricula and a multi-district pilot of the CommonLit program in middle schools.
The panel followed introductory remarks from State Superintendent Dr. Mitchell and included speakers from DCPS, Center City Public Charter Schools, the Curriculum Insight Project and education writer Natalie Wexler. DCPS testimony said the district’s locally developed 'District Visions' curriculum has been revised and that a CommonLit pilot — covering roughly half of DC middle schools — includes professional development, school-level supports and data collection to inform next steps.
Why it matters: the panel framed a central tension for local policy: how to balance the Common Core-era emphasis on skill standards with curricula that build students’…
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