Somers Central School District highlights Wit and Wisdom literacy rollout at SIS

At its April 7 workshop, the Somers Central School District board heard a detailed presentation from Somers Intermediate School staff and students about the district's second-year implementation of the Wit and Wisdom knowledge-building literacy curriculum.

The central-office introduction said the program pairs knowledge-building texts with cross-curricular instruction in science and social studies and is intended to build the background knowledge and vocabulary students need to write and analyze complex texts. "Trust the process," Dr. Grogan told the board as she described initial growing pains and the payoff observed in the second year.

Teachers who implemented the program described concrete classroom changes. Kayn Jacob Ellis, a teacher at the intermediate school, said students who began the year writing two-paragraph responses are now producing four-paragraph essays after scaffolded instruction and repeated practice. "They're engaged," Ellis said, adding that common graphic organizers, rubrics and repeated exposure to vocabulary give all learners access to grade-level texts.

Miss Belure, speaking for building leadership, said trainers from the program's provider worked with teachers and that classroom visits show consistent language and structures from grade to grade. She told the board that the program's modules allow teachers to integrate art, science and social studies into literacy lessons so students build background knowledge alongside explicit reading and writing skills.

Special-education and co-taught teachers said the curriculum offers multiple access points and that rubrics and peer review help students self-assess and track growth. A third-grade student who spoke during the presentation said, "I learned about underwater life in the classrooms," noting exposure to terms such as "bioluminescence" as an example of vocabulary the curriculum makes accessible.

District staff and teachers described pacing and evaluation timelines. Teachers said modules typically run two to three months; a district official told the board that while classroom-level improvements show in year two, the district expects a fuller program cycle and robust data after roughly five years of phased implementation and evaluation.

The presentation also highlighted student success in other areas: district leaders announced multiple winners from recent science-research competitions and two students who will travel to the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix in May.

Votes at a glance The board moved and seconded a resolution "that the board of education upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools hereby approves the attached business agenda." During the voice vote one board member said, "I opposed," and another said "Abstain." The transcript does not record a formal roll-call tally; the meeting proceeded after the voice vote.

What's next District leaders said they plan continued teacher collaboration, a K—12 writing summit next year to review student work across grades, and ongoing monitoring of Wit and Wisdom outcomes as the implementation matures.