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Keyport Board hears recommendation to adopt Amplify for grades 6–8 and Savis for 9–12
Summary
At a May 6 workshop, Keyport educators recommended adopting Amplify for grades 6–8 and Savis for grades 9–12 as the district’s 6–12 high-quality instructional materials, citing state law and grant funding; next steps include board approval, professional development and ongoing coaching.
Miss White, lead of Keyport’s 6–12 literacy adoption and review committee, told the Board of Education on May 6 that the committee recommends adopting Amplify for grades 6–8 and Savis for grades 9–12 as the district’s high-quality instructional materials for grades 6–12. The recommendation, presented at a workshop meeting, is framed as part of a broader move to strengthen secondary literacy after earlier K–5 adoptions.
The recommendation is tied to Public Law 2024, C.52, and to several competitive grants the district secured, White said, including a Coach Grant, the RISE grant and an Impact grant. "The Impact will fund half of the 6–12 adopted HQIM," White said, describing the grants as enabling not just a curriculum purchase but a supported instructional shift that includes coaching and professional development.
White outlined the committee’s vetting process: staff reviewed four candidate series using EDReports and a rubric aligned to the New Jersey literacy framework and the science of reading. The committee prioritized alignment to recently updated standards, embedded assessment for progress monitoring, multilingual learner supports and consistency across grade levels. She said the committee included teachers, administrators and community members from nearby districts in the review.
Board members pressed on how the new materials would address students who arrive in middle or high school without foundational K–2 instruction. "How do these programs bridge the gap for what they may have missed structurally?" asked board member Mr. Sally. White responded that a tier‑one program is part of a larger plan: "It’s not going to be just a tier‑one program that’s going to fix it. We rely on our literacy coaches and intervention programs, and our job as administrators is to support teachers through professional development and coaching to help close those gaps."
White also said district outreach to families produced limited survey response; staff plan to notify stakeholders of the committee’s selection and post the decision on the curriculum website. She described the K–5 Amplify CKLA adoption as a model the district is building on and said the 6–12 proposal is meant to create one coherent literacy pathway across grades.
Superintendent Dr. Seavoya and board staff described implementation planning that would follow board approval: on‑site and virtual launch coaching, aligned professional development, resource alignment and ongoing monitoring using the materials’ embedded assessments. No formal adoption vote was recorded in the workshop; White said the recommendation will appear on an upcoming business agenda for the board to act on.
During the meeting, the board also heard routine reports, including a superintendent update on NJSLA testing and early childhood partnerships, and was told it will consider personnel items, including the retirement notice from Miss Lavilla. The board read a resolution to move into an executive session to discuss personnel, litigation and legal advice; a motion was seconded but the transcript does not record the roll-call result.
If the board approves the materials at a future public meeting, staff said they will begin coordinated implementation with teacher coaching, professional development and regular progress monitoring across the district.
