Battle Ground Public Schools -

The district adopted new English language arts curriculum for students in kindergarten through eighth grade during the 2022-23 school year.

Why does Pleasant Valley Middle School student Mia Richart like to read?

“I get to meet new characters and explore new worlds,” the fifth grader explained during a recent English language arts class.

“This year, I’ve learned every story has a meaning to it,” added classmate Ryder McIlvain. “There’s always something important or exciting in every paragraph.”

These students are in the second full year of learning to read and write using new curricula adopted during the 2022-23 school year for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

“My impression is that the kids are learning much harder things than they have had to in the past,” said Holly Lozano, whose son Jesse is in the third grade at Daybreak Primary, “and they are really picking up on it.”

Curriculum adoption involves a group of volunteers made up of educators, administrators and community members. They examine proposed materials, select which ones to pilot and then eventually recommend approval to the district’s board of directors who have the final say. The committee selected CommonLit 360 for students in grades six through eight, and Great Minds: Wit & Wisdom for kindergarten through fifth grade.

Learning how to teach an entirely new curriculum is challenging for educators, who spend hours during the lead-up to school familiarizing themselves with the lesson plans. But the new curricula provide significantly more complete materials and online resources, reducing the amount of prep time teachers need to create the lessons and improving the consistency of what students are learning from one year to the next.

“Students are gaining so many skills within the new adoptions,” said Lorri Sibley, a second grade teacher at Daybreak Primary. “These two curriculums implement the Science of Reading, developing foundational skills, knowledge and vocabulary.”

Sibley quizzed her own class about their experience with the new curriculum, asking them to rate whether the lessons were too easy, too difficult or just right. Only two of the 14 students who responded felt the lessons were too hard. None of the students found it too easy.

Sibley’s students also voted The Little Yellow Leaf as their favorite book so far this year. As one said, “It is the best book ever.” Another student added, “It teaches that you can be brave with a friend.”

Jessica Merryman’s son, Andrew, is in the fourth grade at Daybreak Primary. “I can see how the curriculum promotes a deeper understanding when it comes to the concepts,” she said. “I want him exposed to a variety of texts and types of literature, and Wit and Wisdom seems to support that.”

Back in Katherine Reed’s classroom at Pleasant Valley Middle School, Ryder McIlvain is breaking down all the ways learning to read and write can help later in life. “You can’t even really get a job if you don’t know how to read or write,” says the fifth grader. “Like, if you were a waiter, you’d have to write down orders to give to the cooks, and the cook has to read the orders so they know what to make.”

“Jesse continues to impress me with his ability to learn and read new words I would have typically thought were beyond his grade level,” said Holly Lozano.

The role of local levy funding

Battle Ground Public Schools has also recently updated middle school curricula for social studies, science (grades 6-8)  and social and emotional learning, as well as high school social studies, science, early child development and more.