District presenters outline redesigned K–12 ELA curriculum, cite early pilot gains

Conestoga Valley School District presenters gave a full overview of a proposed K–12 English language arts curriculum and asked the board to take formal action on Stage‑1 documents at next week’s meeting. The team said the redesign centers on a guaranteed, standards‑aligned curriculum and the district’s learner profile to improve long‑term student outcomes.

The presenters — introduced by Dr. Man and Dr. Ker — said the effort was guided by research on the science of reading and the Reading Rope framework and that 40‑plus CV educators helped produce the units. "In CV we follow science of reading research in shaping our literacy program," said Dave Paul, a district reading specialist. He listed five priorities: standards‑based units, interdisciplinary integration, background‑knowledge building, vocabulary instruction, and text analysis.

Presenters showed examples of classroom practice and interdisciplinary performance tasks: third‑grade teams opening classroom walls to co‑teach vocabulary, a middle‑school "Fishbowl" discussion strategy to promote student‑led text analysis, and second‑grade performance tasks in which students designed bird feeders after informational reading. "These performance tasks are the critical link between what students are reading and how they're transferring that knowledge," one presenter said.

On assessment, the team presented early pilot data for elementary units and said the district has seen a reversal of a multi‑year decline in PSSA proficiency trends at elementary levels during the first pilot year. Presenters also cited local measures: higher beginning‑of‑year DIBELS fluency scores in third and fourth grades and a stated increase to "almost 60% of our students coming into the district starting on level" for fall benchmark checks. The team emphasized that the pilot is only year one and not full implementation.

Board members asked detailed questions about balance between literature and informational text, how spelling and grammar will be sequenced, and how vocabulary instruction will be taught across grades. Presenters said phonics and foundational skill instruction remain embedded in lower grades and that a K–8 grammar scope and sequence is a Year‑2 goal to ensure cohesion. When asked whether literature genres are scheduled sequentially, presenters said the curriculum intentionally includes multiple genres across grade bands.

The presenters asked the board to place the Stage‑1 curriculum documents on next week’s consent agenda for approval after board review of the posted PDFs. If approved, the district said units would proceed toward further piloting and implementation steps.

The board did not take a final vote on the curriculum during this meeting; the item was scheduled for formal action at the next regular meeting.