From left, Jefferson Middle School Principal Katie Zwald, and Jamestown Public Schools Coordinator of Literacy Dr. Jennifer Aaron discuss the district’s new English Language Arts curriculum. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Jamestown Public Schools Board of Education members heard an update Tuesday on the district’s new kindergarten through eighth grade English Language Arts curriculum.

In 2023 after a year of researching and piloting two different K-8 curricula, the district adopted HMH Into Reading for kindergarten through 6, and HMH Into Literature for grades 7 and 8. Each is a theme-based spiraling curriculum.

Coordinator of Literacy Dr. Jennifer Aaron said the district supports teachers and building leaders with professional development to help make sure students are making the gains that they should be making.

Jefferson Middle School Principal Katie Zwald said that during the first year one of the ways that teachers were supported was bringing in HMH coaches into the district’s schools.

“The biggest benefit of the HMH coaches and coaching we had, was that we were able to tailor it, so as building leaders we were able to meet with our own PLC (professional learning community) teams, and help work to make sure the coaching met the needs of not just the school overall, but each grade level and each team,” Zwald said.

Zwald said in the 2023-2024 school year, Read 180, an enrichment program, was used in conjunction with HMH to help 555 students in the seventh and eighth grades.

This school year, 2024-25, Zwald said, fifth and sixth graders were added, and Read 180 has increased to 1,300 students. Zwald added that there is an iPad application used with Read 180 that is differentiated.

“It (the app) takes the students right alongside where there needs are,” Zwald noted.

Steve Sipior, an ELA teacher at Persell Middle School, said the Read 180 program has an excellent online component.

“The online platform is very nice, very usable for the kids,” Sipior said. “In my classes, we have been seeing some really good gains in those reading scores, moving forward.”

Sipior added that since September, he is very happy with the direction of Read 180.

“The reason we went with HMH, in my opinion, is the online materials are outstanding,” Sipior added.

An example, he noted, was that it would take about three years to work through one of the text books without having any repetition of lessons from year to year.

“It’s that rigid. It’s that deep, and there are videos catered for students by students. The production value is very nice,” Sipior said. “The kids aren’t just getting consistency from seventh to eighth grade. They are getting consistency from kindergarten through eighth grade. That’s what the district is going for.”

Aaron said that in 2023 at Ring School, kindergarten students piloted HMH, and in 2024, first grade students at Ring used HMH. Aaron said she had spoken with a teacher at Ring, and the teacher said she is seeing a difference with students who have used the HMH curriculum for two years.

“Even knowing that is possible is exciting,” Aaron noted.

The goal, Aaron added, for the district is to use Read 180 to help move the lower-performing students up into a high-performing reading category.