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Sebago teachers report progress from K–2 literacy pilots as committee plans January choice
Summary
Teachers and coaches described two K–2 literacy pilots—CKLA (Amplify) and HMH Into Reading—highlighting strong foundational skill work, richer knowledge-building texts, coaching supports and peer visits. Staff said a rubric and assessment data will guide a decision in early January.
Sebago Public Schools staff described early results from two K–2 literacy pilots on the district agenda and said they expect to choose a program in early January so costs can be included in next year’s budget.
Chrissy Bennett, the district’s first-grade teacher, told the school committee she has been piloting CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) from Amplify and praised its split structure of a skills hour and a knowledge hour. “It comes from the company Amplify,” Bennett said. “The skills section … is focused on your foundational skills, phonics, … decoding. The knowledge piece is…content-rich units,” she said, adding that students have engaged with chapter-style readers and built vocabulary and geographic knowledge.
Amanda McInness, the district’s literacy coaching interventionist, described the other pilot, HMH’s Into Reading, as a more integrated or “balanced” approach with digital components and read-alouds that pair phonics with daily routines. Staff said both CKLA and Into Reading were selected because they align with the science-of-reading framework and “cover phonics, decoding, comprehension [and] vocabulary,” McInness said.
Presenters described professional learning and implementation supports that accompanied the pilots: summer unpacking sessions paid through the district’s rural education grant, regular coaching, virtual coach access for CKLA and a portal/Coachley resource for Into Reading. Staff emphasized internal coaching capacity as a cost-saving measure. The district also arranged November visits to Turner Primary and Sanford Pride schools to observe full implementations and debrief with host teachers.
To reduce subjectivity in the final choice, staff plan to apply a rubric that incorporates assessment alignment and classroom-observation evidence. “We hope to make a decision in January, beginning of January,” the presenter said, noting the timeline allows the district to budget for materials and vendor onboarding before July purchases.
Committee members asked about assessment data and how K–2 choices would transition to third grade, when instruction typically focuses more on vocabulary and comprehension. Staff said K–2 pilots include assessment components and that the rubric will explicitly evaluate how programs prepare students for later grade-level expectations.
Next steps include district peer observations this week, rubric-based program reviews and a January decision. The committee thanked staff for the presentation and scheduled follow-up as part of curriculum and budget planning.
