As part of our district’s focus on literacy, MVWSD has begun looking at new curriculums for students grade K-5 in our English Language Arts (ELA) program. In recent decades, more research on children’s cognitive processes, language development, and reading acquisition has shown that curriculum that includes the Science of Reading helps to ensure children develop strong foundational reading skills, enabling them to become proficient readers.
The work of MVWSD’s methodical process for researching new curriculums is done by the Adoption Committee. This committee researches, reviews, and tries out the ELA curriculum that follows the Science of Reading. Our goal is to have a new curriculum in place for the 2024-25 school year.
Our District Ed Services Department asked for participation from classroom teachers and from families of students in Kindergarten - 5th grade and got many applications. California Education Code requires that the majority of members on the curriculum adoption committee must be teachers. The review team represents different grade levels across schools. The committee is co-facilitated by the Chief Academic Officer, the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, the Director of Early Literacy, and the MTSS Coordinator. The team will meet several times a month from September through May afterschool and on Saturdays, with a goal of recommending a curriculum to the Board of Trustee for adoption in May.
In September, the committee had three meetings and the accomplished the following:
* Reviewed the Science of Reading and the instructional shifts when moving from a balanced literacy to a structured literacy approach