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Teachers and students tell Mechanicsburg board CKLA literacy program is building early skills and vocabulary
Summary
Teachers and students from North Side Elementary presented classroom examples of the newly implemented CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) program, saying it pairs daily phonics and decodable readers with a knowledge-rich curriculum that has boosted vocabulary, writing and engagement across K–3.
Claire McDonald, a first‑grade teacher at North Side Elementary, told the Mechanicsburg Area School District Board on Dec. 9 that the district’s newly adopted CKLA program is giving students a “structured, engaging, and supportive foundation in both reading skills and world knowledge.”
McDonald described CKLA’s two parts — skills (phonics, decoding and daily decodable readers) and knowledge (vocabulary-rich thematic units such as the human body and astronomy) — and said the materials provide intentional scaffolds that make advanced content accessible to diverse learners. “The decodable readers themselves…
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