SFUSD Adopts A New Literacy Curriculum

As part of its commitment to improving equity and excellence in student outcomes, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has adopted a new research-backed literacy and math curriculum designed to inclusively and effectively teach foundational skills to its diverse student body. Following a pilot program in the spring and fall of 2023, the new Language Arts curriculum for grades PK-8 will be implemented in the 2024-25 school year. During the week of June 10, 2024, K-5 teachers attended an overview session for the newly adopted K-5 curriculum, Into Reading.

Lisa Levin, Supervisor of Elementary English Language Arts at SFUSD, addressed the gathered educators, emphasizing the benefits of a common curriculum. "In thinking about SFUSD’s mission, why would it be helpful to have a common curriculum?” Levin asked. “We want each and every student to have similar access to knowledge. It shouldn’t be dependent on how long a teacher has been teaching or whatever resources are present in a certain school.”

Reasons for the New Curriculum

Levin outlined several key reasons for the adoption of a new Language Arts core curriculum:

• It had been over 12 years since SFUSD’s last Language Arts Core Curriculum adoption.

• A new curriculum was needed to meet the instructional goals set forth in SFUSD’s goals and guardrails.

• An audit conducted in SFUSD schools during the 2021-22 school year revealed significant gaps: instructional goals were not being met, there was no coherence between schools or grade levels, many students lacked access to grade-level complex texts, and both teachers and families expressed a need for a core curriculum.

Teacher Insights: Joanne Lepech

Spark team members spoke with Joanne Lepech, a first-grade teacher at Claire Lilienthal. Here is an edited version of the conversation:

Spark: You sound excited about the new Into Reading curriculum. Can you tell me why?

Joanne Lepech: I truly am. What I really like about it is that it provides systematic and explicit instruction to teach children English language arts. As you know, our school district is the seventh largest in the nation. We have a diverse group of students with different learning needs, goals, and values. Providing an excellent quality education for them is a high priority. The Into Reading curriculum allows children to build on what they know and achieve state standards by integrating reading, writing, and grammar, which will help them succeed.

Spark: How do you see this curriculum helping children overcome some of the challenges they face?

JL: Whether a student has a teacher who is teaching first grade for the first time or a veteran teacher with 35 years of experience, they will receive the high-quality education that all children deserve. This curriculum enables us to reach all students, ensuring that they have access to the same baseline resources. Some students have access to a lot of books whether on the computer, at home, at the bookstore or the library. Some students have less access. With Into Reading, they can take these materials home and practice with their parents. The curriculum’s materials are also visually stunning and represent children from all different backgrounds. That will empower and engage them. 

Spark: It also looks like this curriculum includes a lot of resource materials for teachers.

JL: Absolutely. This material is very well-structured and makes lesson planning so easy for us teachers. One great feature of Into Reading is that it is consumable, so children can write in their books and take them home, reducing preparation time for teachers. This allows us to focus more on analyzing student data and determining the next steps to support their learning. The curriculum also includes fun interactive activities that promote teamwork, leadership, and friendship among students. Additionally, parents will benefit from access to the same vocabulary and concepts we are teaching, making it easier for them to support their children’s learning at home.

Spark: It seems there are many advantages to this new curriculum.

JL: Indeed, there are numerous benefits. For example, if a child moves from one school to another within the district, the consistency of the curriculum will prevent learning gaps. By having such an amazing curriculum, we will be able to reach all students. I’m really excited! I can’t wait to go home, look through it and prepare for the upcoming year.