Teachers report strong alignment with science‑of‑reading but flag pacing and materials gaps in year‑long Benchmark Advance pilot

At a Board of Education meeting on April 20, 2026, second‑grade teachers Denise Monz and Kelly Patrell and other K–6 staff presented findings from a year‑long pilot of the Benchmark Advance English‑language arts curriculum. Teachers said the program is largely aligned with the science of reading and has produced observable gains in student decoding, vocabulary and engagement — particularly when paired with intervention kits and dedicated teacher release time.

Teachers described an initial two‑day summer training followed by targeted, smaller follow‑up sessions during the year that allowed staff to tailor lessons and troubleshoot implementation with Benchmark trainers. “One of the best things … was to respect our need and our want for release time,” second‑grade teacher Denise Monz said, adding that regular collaborative meetings and RTI support made the program manageable after early overwhelm.

The pilot team cited a recent Reading League review that found the curriculum “met or mostly met” core areas of the science‑of‑reading framework — explicit, systematic phonics and structured comprehension and writing instruction — and praised Benchmark’s integrated units that embed literacy in science and social studies topics. K–6 literacy coach Jules Wagner summarized the review, saying the program offered “explicit systematic decoding” across grade levels and materials that build vocabulary and background knowledge across ten‑unit knowledge strands.

Teachers reported practical benefits: consumable student workbooks with appropriate spacing, online resources and lesson plans in the Benchmark Universe, and intervention materials that let teachers pre‑expose struggling students to vocabulary and provide decodable practice. A special‑education teacher described using the “Steps to Advance” and decodables to pre‑teach vocabulary and phonics; she said students who had been reluctant to read were volunteering to read aloud after receiving the interventions.

But staff also outlined notable challenges. Several teachers said writing expectations escalated rapidly at kindergarten and early elementary levels, and some units contain dense content that made it difficult to complete all ten units in a school year without condensing other work. Upper‑grade teachers said spending extended time on the same unit texts sometimes reduced engagement and left limited time for whole‑novel instruction.

“We had a lot of challenges in the upper grades,” one teacher said, noting that students who previously read full novels missed that experience under the pilot’s unit structure. Teachers described compensatory steps — extra graphic organizers, supplemental small readers, project‑based activities such as nature walks and civic‑letter writing — to preserve engagement and meet standards.

Board member Jen asked about the UPS intervention kits (Start‑Up/Build‑Up/Spiral‑Up) and whether those physical kits are included in the purchase. Teachers said online lesson plans were available districtwide but that some printed kit components (take‑home books and full printed sets of decodables) would require additional purchase for classroom kits.

Administration said it will refine a recommendation on whether to adopt the curriculum — including possible adjustments to grade levels covered — and present that recommendation to the board for final consideration. Bob (district lead) told the board he would finalize recommendations in the coming weeks.

Why it matters: Choosing a core ELA program determines classroom materials, intervention pathways, professional development needs, and potential budget items for printed intervention kits. Teachers told the board they are seeing early student skill gains but want the district to plan for supplemental materials, deliberate pacing adjustments and funding for printed intervention components if the program is adopted.

The board heard no formal action to adopt the curriculum at the April 20 meeting; administrators said a recommendation will be brought forward for formal consideration in a future meeting.