East Haven recommends HMH 'Into Reading' after months‑long elementary ELA review

A district committee that spent months reviewing approved elementary English‑language arts programs recommended HMH Into Reading as East Haven Public Schools’ new elementary core ELA program.

Interim Superintendent Adam Sweeney and literacy coaches presented the results of a comprehensive review process that began in September and continued through mid‑March. The committee used a standardized rubric provided by Hillford Literacy, answered roughly 1,788 program indicators across grade bands and conducted classroom sampling, publisher Q&A and comparative scoring.

Committee members said they compared My View (Ready Gen update), a compendium model (Wit & Wisdom with CKLA and UFLI plus Heggerty), EL Education, and HMH Into Reading. They reported that Into Reading scored highest across the rubric in nearly all categories and met EdReports expectations in three gateways. Presenters emphasized Into Reading’s combination of authentic, high‑interest texts, a decodable library, explicit phonics and phonemic awareness resources, scaffolded supports for multilingual learners and built‑in formative assessment for lesson‑level checks.

Committee members also noted one area flagged on an older EdReports review — fluency for grades 3–5 scored lower on an earlier EdReports version — but said the committee reviewed a newer publisher version (version three) and felt the program provided the connected fluency resources the district lacked. The committee recommended piloting select components during summer demos before full purchase and described a phased implementation and a de‑implementation plan for existing materials to ensure useful resources are repurposed.

Board members who spoke expressed appreciation for the committee’s thoroughness. The board did not take a final purchase vote during the meeting; presenters said implementation planning and invoicing timing remain to be finalized.