March 2023 Updates

The Newton Literacy Collaborative meets regularly with Newton Public Schools' central office leadership to discuss literacy in our schools.

Read notes from March 3, 2023.

Below are a few key updates (click link above for full information):

• A pilot of the Fountas & Pinnell curriculum is ongoing in 3 schools (Cabot, Ward, & Williams). F&P has been widely criticized for not being based in the science of reading, lacking cultural sensitivity, and not ensuring equity for our most vulnerable students, especially those with learning disabilities.

• After a great deal of advocacy, NPS decided to expand their efforts to consider other evidence-based curriculum options. Beginning in March/April of 2023, NPS is piloting 3 additional curricula that are on the DESE-approved list. They are Core Knowledge Language Acquisition (CKLA; 2nd grade at Underwood), EL Education (4th grade at Memorial Spaulding), and Wit & Wisdom (2nd grade at Horace Mann).

• NPS is developing a plan and timeline for evaluating and comparing curricula, and they are aiming to gather information to review by the first week of June. As part of their evaluation, NPS has committed to establishing a process to gather feedback from families on the curricula being considered, similar to the model being implemented in Arlington Public Schools.