According to Mary Grace Hanson, Northfield Public Schools’ Director of Teaching and Learning, the new elementary literacy curriculum was motivated by “too many kids that we are not reaching” with literacy education. Teachers from all three elementary school buildings began meeting a year and a half ago, studying various possibilities and reviewing three curricula in depth. By the end of the year, the group had chosen Collaborative Classroom, which the school district has begun implementing this fall.

Hanson is excited about the prospects of the new curriculum.  “The response of teachers has been very, very positive,” she commented. “They worked very hard getting ready.”

Teachers are also excited about what they are already seeing. Sara Duchene, 5th grade teacher at Bridgewater, reports, “My students are super engaged. I can’t believe how much they are writing! I think this is going to be a positive change for our whole district.”

Erin Hall, 1st grade teacher also at Bridgewater, emphasized the usefulness of the curriculum to students when she said, “All students are given the opportunity to read, write and learn new vocabulary they can use in their daily lives.”

Teacher involvement and training are at the heart of the implementation plans. Teachers received 3 days of training last year and plan for an additional seven full days and several live webinars during this year. Based in the latest research on literacy, combined with social/emotional learning strategies, the curriculum will inspire students in all three elementary schools. According to Collaborative Classroom, students in Kindergarten through 5th grade will grow as “readers, writers, thinkers and principled people.”

The Center for the Collaborative Classroom is a non-profit organization whose goal is “to improve the school experience of children across the globe by providing teachers with engaging curricula and ongoing professional learning that support the academic as well as the social and emotional development of the students we all serve.”

Click here for more information about the Collaborative Classroom.