Literacy Instruction in District 90

Literacy Vision: All students will develop as lifelong readers and writers who use their literacy skills to propel them as successful citizens in their communities and beyond.
Literacy Mission: Educators will implement developmentally appropriate, evidence-based instructional best practices that value the essential literacy components; oracy, phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing.

The D90 Literacy vision and mission are grounded in a careful review of current research on effective literacy instruction.  The Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan serves as a valuable resource for our community, offering information and guidance on research-based practices and high-quality literacy instruction.

Core Resources for Instruction

Grades K–3: Word Recognition
Students and teachers in grades K–3 use Wilson’s Fundations as their core resource for phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, encoding, and handwriting instruction. Developed by Wilson Language Training, Fundations provides a systematic, multisensory approach to building foundational literacy skills. Daily lessons engage students in hands-on practice with letter tiles, whiteboards, and student journals, supported by visual cues and structured peer interaction to reinforce learning and promote mastery.

Grades K-4: Language Comprehension
Kindergarten through fourth grade use Being a Reader and Being a Writer, published by Collaborative Classroom. These resources follow a gradual release model of instruction, incorporating whole-group, small-group, partner, and independent learning structures within each lesson.  Daily routines provide students with opportunities to engage in meaningful discussions, interact with high-quality grade-level texts, and explore engaging topics and themes. In addition to targeted small-group instruction at every grade level, students in grades 3 and 4 participate in Book Clubs to further strengthen reading comprehension and student-led discussion skills.

Grade 5 
Grade 5 uses Arts and Letters, published by Great Minds. Arts and Letters evolved from Wit & Wisdom in response to teacher feedback. Designed as a 60-minute literacy block, the structure allows additional time for small-group instruction and independent reading. Arts and Letters is an inquiry-driven, knowledge-building curriculum that integrates reading and writing throughout each unit. Topics, texts, and discussions are intentionally selected to foster engagement and deep thinking. Lessons include whole-class instruction, partner and small-group collaboration, and independent application of skills.

Grades 6-8
Grades 6–8 use Wit & Wisdom, also published by Great Minds. Like Arts and Letters, Wit & Wisdom is an inquiry-based, knowledge-rich curriculum that integrates reading and writing. Eighty-minute lessons include whole-class instruction, collaborative learning structures, and independent practice. Throughout each module, students work toward a culminating essay, responding to the texts studied and demonstrating their learning through analysis and synthesis.

The 2023-2025 Literacy Review Process

In September 2023, District 90 initiated a comprehensive review of our literacy curriculum, with the goal of identifying and implementing improved resources for reading instruction. The review is led by The District 90 Literacy Curriculum Review Committee, which is composed of teachers, instructional specialists, and administrators from across the school district.  Involving teachers and instructional specialists in the review process is critical to ensuring that the resulting curriculum choice is an excellent fit for our students across grade levels and will be implemented with fidelity. 

Successful implementation of a new curriculum is a multi-step process, including review of recent research, evaluating possible curricula, piloting preferred alternatives, reviewing results, selecting the strongest program(s), and providing development for teachers in how to deploy the new materials.   While selection and implementation of a new curriculum can typically require up to two years, the Committee accelerated their process to enable piloting the new curriculum in September 2024, approval of the new curriculum in December 2024, and implementation across all schools in January 2025.

Literacy Curriculum Review Committee Timeline

On December 5, 2023, the Board of Education held a Literacy Instruction Forum to enable learning and discussion on the topic among parents and community members.  After a presentation on the current and future literacy instruction in D90, community participants engaged in small group discussion at tables with a D90 Administrator and Board Member.  Review the presentation.  

On January 9, 2024, the Literacy Curriculum Review Committee gave an update at the Board of Education Committee of the Whole Meeting on their work reviewing potential new curricular resources.  Review the presentation and vetting rubrics by grade level group.  

On March 5, 2024, the Literacy Review Committee gave an update on progress at the Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting.  Since January, the Literacy Committee completed a paper review of possible curricular resources across all elementary and middle school grades,  reviewed the final version of the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan released by the Illinois State Board of Education in January, and identified a short list of materials in consideration for the fall pilots.  The group determined that there were very few comprehensive programs that met the criteria for pilots in all areas, including phonics and phonemic awareness. The committee continued to explore a portfolio of materials which can be used to accomplish the District’s goals, including updated materials from Heggerty and Fundations.  The Committee outlined plans for more closely integrating reading and writing instruction in middle school.  Review the presentation shared with the Board here.

On April 15, 2024, the Literacy Review Committee gave an update on progress at the Board of Education meeting, using these slides.  The group of 33 District 90 educators representing each grade level completed their evaluation of the possible curricular resources working in grade-level bands, using rubrics and a scoring scale.  Prior to the review, the group conducted a comprehensive review of the latest research on how kids learn to read and write, compiled in this spreadsheet.  Because the group determined this winter that none of the comprehensive programs adequately address foundational skills for the lower grades (such as phonics and phonemic awareness), a pilot is already underway this spring with two resources, Fundations Foundational Skills, published by Wilson Language Training Corporation and Bridge to Reading Foundational Skills, published by Heggerty.  

For the fall 2024 pilots across all grade levels, the group identified two resources for grades K-5, Into Reading, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Being a Reader and Being a Writer, published by Collaborative Classroom.  The group identified two resources for grades 6-8, Wit and Wisdom, published by Great Minds and EL Education, published by Imagine Learning.  Estimated materials and training costs for the pilot are $36,821. 

During the Jun 4, 2024 Committee of the Whole Meeting, the Literacy Review Committee gave an update on the anticipated costs of adoption of each of the curricular materials that the District is considering.  As instructional materials now incorporate more comprehensive assessment, enhanced progress monitoring, and expanded professional learning support, prices have increased substantially since the last English language arts materials adoption in 2018.  Review the overview, or acces all the board meeting materials housed in Boardbook. 

During the fall of 2024, District 90 Schools piloted new English Language Arts (ELA) curricular resource options in grades K-8.  The purpose of the pilots was to guide the District’s decision about the adoption of new ELA resources for classroom use in the spring semester.  Learn more by reading the email sent to all families by Dr. Christine Trendel, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for D90.

During the Oct 1, 2024 Board Meeting, Dr. Christine Trendel and Instructional Specialists from all schools provided an overview of the daily phonics instruction occurring in grades K-3 using the Fundations curricula, and shared an update on the progress of the language comprehension curricular resource pilots underway in grades K-8.  Access the literacy presentation and the recording here.

On Nov 1, 2024 the Literacy Curriculum Pilots conducted during September and October across all D90 grade levels concluded. In the coming weeks, the Literacy Committee will review all teacher and student feedback, identify implementation costs, and plan for professional learning for all teachers.  A recommendation for curriculum adoption that best serves our students will be brought to the Board of Education in December, with classroom implementation to begin in February. 

New Curricular Resource : Starting Jan 2025

During the Nov 19, 2024 Board of Education meeting, Dr. Christine Trendel, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Instructional Coaches from all schools presented the results of the pilots which ran across 20 classrooms and a recommendation for the adoption of new curricular resources for grades K - 8.  Costs for the new resources were reviewed, which were lower than anticipated in the long range financial projections previously reviewed by the Board.  The Board of Education approved the recommendation.  View the presentation slides.

The literacy work has been rooted in the Illinois Learning Standards, IL Comprehensive Literacy Plan, and Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which includes two strands of literacy that create skilled readers.  For the lower strand of word recognition, kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classes all use Fundations, a systematic resource for teaching foundational literacy skills in phonics, decoding, handwriting, and spelling.  

The pilots focused on resources that would meet the needs of students in the upper strand of language comprehension. Each resource included instruction for grades K-8 to build background knowledge, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking skills.  Implementation is scheduled for late January or early February 2025 in classrooms.  Teachers will prepare during the Jan 6, 2025 institute day, and use an hour during scheduled planning time during January, Feb, and March.