MCPS: New ELA curriculum for 2023-2024 school year

[Anonymous]

This is so frustrating as an MCPS teacher and parent. RGR is so wonderful. I've watched my own K'er go from know only a handful of letter sounds (non-academic preschool) to reading her own bedtime stories, and I've never had such progress with my "low readers." They love Countdown, they're excited as they learn new sounds, they're using those sounds in their writing and getting even more excited when they see what they can do. It's so inspiring! And my higher level students are learning the actual rules of spelling and their writing is some of the best I've ever had at this grade level.

So, naturally, MCPS is looking to get rid of it. My school has been very...fluid...with Benchmark and most of the grade level teams swap out at least some of the texts, and my team is barely using the Benchmark texts at all. I don't think I've ever been this serious about considering a career to change to curriculum writer--it can't be that difficult, given the quality of what gets out there, and I certainly couldn't do much worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so frustrating as an MCPS teacher and parent. RGR is so wonderful. I've watched my own K'er go from know only a handful of letter sounds (non-academic preschool) to reading her own bedtime stories, and I've never had such progress with my "low readers." They love Countdown, they're excited as they learn new sounds, they're using those sounds in their writing and getting even more excited when they see what they can do. It's so inspiring! And my higher level students are learning the actual rules of spelling and their writing is some of the best I've ever had at this grade level.

So, naturally, MCPS is looking to get rid of it. My school has been very...fluid...with Benchmark and most of the grade level teams swap out at least some of the texts, and my team is barely using the Benchmark texts at all. I don't think I've ever been this serious about considering a career to change to curriculum writer--it can't be that difficult, given the quality of what gets out there, and I certainly couldn't do much worse.

Wait, MCPS is getting rid of RGR already? It has made such a difference for my 1st grader this year to get explicit phonics instruction. His teacher also said she's found it far more effective for a majority of kids. I'm so sick of MCPS constantly yanking teachers and students around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so frustrating as an MCPS teacher and parent. RGR is so wonderful. I've watched my own K'er go from know only a handful of letter sounds (non-academic preschool) to reading her own bedtime stories, and I've never had such progress with my "low readers." They love Countdown, they're excited as they learn new sounds, they're using those sounds in their writing and getting even more excited when they see what they can do. It's so inspiring! And my higher level students are learning the actual rules of spelling and their writing is some of the best I've ever had at this grade level.

So, naturally, MCPS is looking to get rid of it. My school has been very...fluid...with Benchmark and most of the grade level teams swap out at least some of the texts, and my team is barely using the Benchmark texts at all. I don't think I've ever been this serious about considering a career to change to curriculum writer--it can't be that difficult, given the quality of what gets out there, and I certainly couldn't do much worse.

Wait, MCPS is getting rid of RGR already? It has made such a difference for my 1st grader this year to get explicit phonics instruction. His teacher also said she's found it far more effective for a majority of kids. I'm so sick of MCPS constantly yanking teachers and students around.

The word was that "the new ELA curriculum" would be something that included phonics, so it would in that way make RGR unnecessary. But Benchmark has phonics too and... well, we can see how much that is used. RGR is great, why not just keep the ONE THING that's working?!!

But if Benchmark is staying for the next year, we can hope RGR is too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so frustrating as an MCPS teacher and parent. RGR is so wonderful. I've watched my own K'er go from know only a handful of letter sounds (non-academic preschool) to reading her own bedtime stories, and I've never had such progress with my "low readers." They love Countdown, they're excited as they learn new sounds, they're using those sounds in their writing and getting even more excited when they see what they can do. It's so inspiring! And my higher level students are learning the actual rules of spelling and their writing is some of the best I've ever had at this grade level.

So, naturally, MCPS is looking to get rid of it. My school has been very...fluid...with Benchmark and most of the grade level teams swap out at least some of the texts, and my team is barely using the Benchmark texts at all. I don't think I've ever been this serious about considering a career to change to curriculum writer--it can't be that difficult, given the quality of what gets out there, and I certainly couldn't do much worse.

Wait, MCPS is getting rid of RGR already? It has made such a difference for my 1st grader this year to get explicit phonics instruction. His teacher also said she's found it far more effective for a majority of kids. I'm so sick of MCPS constantly yanking teachers and students around.

The word was that "the new ELA curriculum" would be something that included phonics, so it would in that way make RGR unnecessary. But Benchmark has phonics too and... well, we can see how much that is used. RGR is great, why not just keep the ONE THING that's working?!!

But if Benchmark is staying for the next year, we can hope RGR is too.

I have loved using RGR with my first graders this year. Just like others have mentioned, I've never seen so many struggling readers take off with this phonics curriculum. I know that the new curriculum is supposed to be an all-in-one curriculum like Benchmark and we see how that turned out. My school is already hinting that whatever the new curriculum is (if it happens), we will still use RGR for the phonics component. It's the best thing MCPS has done in regards to curriculum selection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you're piloting the new version of Benchmark, all K-2 kiddos are getting Really Great Reading instead of the daily phonics lesson from Benchmark. They still do the other reading and writing lessons from Benchmark.
I agree with other posters, RGR is fantastic!

My 2nd greater seems to like it.

[Anonymous]

Did MCPS announce anything at the BoE
Meeting today? So irritating that they are keeping Benchmark but haven’t but forthright about it.

[Anonymous]

My principal told us today that they are keeping benchmark for one more year.
Benchmark 2022 pilot schools will get RGR for next year as well.

The two way immersion and one way immersion Spanish schools will get a new curriculum though… Houghton Mifflin.

[Anonymous]

Principals received a memo yesterday saying that Benchmark would continue for one more year as they open up a new RFP and consider additional curriculums. While I'm happy that our K-2 students will still receive RGR for phonics, I'm upset that the reading/writing instruction will still be done via Benchmark. It's the worst curriculum I've seen in my twenty years of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Principals received a memo yesterday saying that Benchmark would continue for one more year as they open up a new RFP and consider additional curriculums. While I'm happy that our K-2 students will still receive RGR for phonics, I'm upset that the reading/writing instruction will still be done via Benchmark. It's the worst curriculum I've seen in my twenty years of education.

Sucks

[Anonymous]

I was on the review committee and don't understand what other curricula they could review - there were many that were part of the original review, with 3 finalists (one of which was much stronger than the other 2). Very disappointed we are stuck with Benchmark for another year.

[Anonymous]

So when are they going to announce this to parents?

[Anonymous]

People like RGR, so they can't possibly keep that. Maybe they can find some free online curriculum that is so bad they have to get rid of it in 1-2 years. Oh wait, that's their normal process...

[Anonymous]

MCPS has made it clear that they now want to make sure it goes with their equity lens. They do not care if it teaches reading as long as the main focus of the program is equity.

My guess is that when the final programs were reviewed, the focus was on literacy instruction and how well they did in the classroom (which makes sense). Hence, they need to review all again and add in others with a new focus lens.

This of course costs more time and money. I wish I was joking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has made it clear that they now want to make sure it goes with their equity lens. They do not care if it teaches reading as long as the main focus of the program is equity.

My guess is that when the final programs were reviewed, the focus was on literacy instruction and how well they did in the classroom (which makes sense). Hence, they need to review all again and add in others with a new focus lens.

This of course costs more time and money. I wish I was joking.

So basically you need to teach your kid phonics and reading at home if you want them to learn anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has made it clear that they now want to make sure it goes with their equity lens. They do not care if it teaches reading as long as the main focus of the program is equity.

My guess is that when the final programs were reviewed, the focus was on literacy instruction and how well they did in the classroom (which makes sense). Hence, they need to review all again and add in others with a new focus lens.

This of course costs more time and money. I wish I was joking.

So basically you need to teach your kid phonics and reading at home if you want them to learn anything.

The decision-makers at the Central Office are so far removed from students that it hasn't been about education for a long time now. If this continues, MCPS will be reduced to a jobs program that serves no function aside from promoting equality for its own sake and parents will become increasingly irate.