Teachers and parents urge Sunnyvale board to keep teachers central to curriculum decisions

Public comment at the Sunnyvale board meeting focused on curriculum selection process and the need to include classroom teachers in every step. Wendy Smith, president of the local teachers’ union, said teachers had been sidelined in recent adoptions and appealed to trustees to 'uphold board policy and regulation 6141' and Education Code language requiring substantial teacher involvement.

"My name is Wendy Smith. I am the president of SEA and a dedicated teacher of 30 years, 27 of them here in Sunnyvale," Smith said, adding that teachers should be part of selection and implementation. Parent Robin Ivester described two of her children who have dyslexia and criticized past district reliance on balanced-literacy approaches: "The children who have dyslexia in this district need science of reading," she said, and asked the board for clearer evidence the proposed curricula support students with reading difficulties. Trustees and staff repeatedly acknowledged the requests and pledged to provide clearer documentation and to widen teacher and site-leadership engagement before any final recommendation.

Speakers asked for the names of the three curricula presented to principals (McGraw-Hill Wonders; Benchmark Express; Amplify CKLA) and for evidence from other districts about closing achievement gaps. Staff responded that principals had previewed each publisher in 50-minute sessions and that teachers piloting designated-ELD materials would continue through the school year; that feedback will be folded into any comprehensive pilot.