Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Literacy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Stockton Unified outlines districtwide rollout of SIPS early‑literacy program
Summary
District curriculum director Melissa Sigers told the board that Stockton Unified has adopted SIPS — a structured phonics-and‑word‑recognition program — as its K–2 foundational reading curriculum and reported improved assessment-entry rates and teacher buy‑in during an implementation update.
Melissa Sigers, Stockton Unified’s director of curriculum and professional development, told the board the district has adopted SIPS (systematic instruction in phonological awareness, phonics and site words) as its core foundational-reading curriculum for kindergarten through second grade.
Sigers said SIPS aligns with the science of reading and provides an explicit, sequenced approach to phonological awareness, phonics and sight‑word instruction. She said the district’s early‑adopter sites showed positive growth and that Stockton purchased the program for all sites; Sigers added that SIPS became the district’s core foundational skills curriculum in November.
Sigers highlighted implementation data showing a large increase in assessment-data entry: districtwide mastery‑assessment entries for K–2 rose from 26% last school year to 65% this year (fall-to-winter comparison), which she said reflects wider and timelier use of the program and data systems. She also said roughly 780 staff members participated in SIPS training through September 30, 2024, and noted that 88% of teachers who responded to a SIPS survey reported positive impact.
Trustees pressed for detail on fidelity and equity. Trustee Priest asked whether SIPS data can be disaggregated by students’ ethnic backgrounds; Sigers replied the data can be disaggregated and that the district will provide those breakdowns. Trustees also asked how the district is supporting teachers who face classroom management or high‑need students; Sigers and curriculum specialists described layered supports: an intensive two‑year ‘letters’ cohort in the science‑of‑reading training, a shorter Aspire cohort for upper grades, three rounds of site visits (modeling, routine practice, lesson study), core consultants and ELA curriculum specialists who follow up at sites.
Sigers said the district emphasizes mastery‑based grouping so students receive instruction at their instructional entry point. She described computer‑adaptive tools used at some sites (i‑Ready and Lexia), after‑school supports through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) and summer programming that embeds SIPS practices for continuity.
The presentation concluded with next steps: continue targeted professional learning, align expectations for fidelity, expand intervention supports to higher grades as needed, and maintain robust data monitoring at site and district levels. Sigers invited trustees and community members to a SIPS showcase boardroom demonstration the following evening.
The board asked for follow‑up materials on: (1) ethnic and demographic disaggregation of SIPS outcomes, (2) site‑level fidelity metrics and which sites are meeting implementation benchmarks, and (3) details on outside/community literacy supports (nonprofits/summer offerings) to complement in‑school efforts. Sigers said the district will provide those clarifications.
