Upper Darby to pilot two elementary ELA programs next fall, board to decide in November

District staff asked the committee for permission to pilot two elementary English-language-arts curricular options in the 2025–26 school year as part of a structured review process that will inform a November recommendation to the school board.

Kristen O'Neal, supervisor of elementary ELA review work, said the review committee had narrowed three initial resources to two finalists: Benchmark Advance and a combined model integrating Arts & Letters with Really Great Reading. "We are piloting two curricular resources in actual classrooms to see if they work well for our district," O'Neal said. Thirty-one classroom teachers volunteered to participate, representing all grade levels and the district's 10 elementary schools; support staff such as special-education and EL teachers, reading specialists and a librarian will also provide input.

The pilot will run for one trimester beginning at the start of the school year and continuing through November. Teachers will receive materials over the summer, and the district plans professional development in August plus ongoing coaching during the pilot. Staff said the trimester was selected to align with progress-reporting cycles, existing policy and budget timelines and to avoid summer PD on brand-new resources in deference to the teachers' union.

Board members asked whether the pilot could run through May for a full-year comparison. Staff said such an extension would complicate budget planning and policy timelines: district policy requires new textbook/resource adoptions be brought forward in November to align with budget season and procurement steps; administrators added that November also allows necessary time to request budget amounts for the chosen adoption. One board member suggested the board could consider allowing teachers using the adopted resource to finish the school year with it as an extension option.

If approved, staff will coordinate with publishers in July to secure materials, plan PD, and communicate with families about the pilot scope and objectives. The district will collect teacher feedback throughout the trimester to guide the final recommendation to the board in November.

Next steps: committee moved the pilot permission forward; staff will coordinate logistics with publishers, provide August PD, and convene pilot review meetings during the trimester.