At its May 21 special meeting, the Archuleta School District (ASD) Board of Education unanimously voted in favor of adopting the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum for implementation beginning in the 2026-2027 school year for Pagosa Springs Elementary School and fifth grade at Pagosa Springs Middle School.
The board previously heard a presentation about the need to change curriculum, the reasons for choosing CKLA, how the district is piloting the new curriculum and more from Pagosa Springs Elementary School Principal Kelly Vining and Pagosa Springs Middle School teacher Amber Kirkham.
In their presentation, the pair highlighted that this will give the district consistent curriculum from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Vining explained that the elementary school was using two different curricula, one for kindergarten through second-grade that focuses on phonics and another for third through fifth grades that focuses on comprehension.
Vining indicated the two different curricula has caused gaps, which shows in the school’s Colorado Measures of Academic Success, or CMAS, testing.
She noted the students are consistently approaching expectations on the test, with achievement being stagnant.
She also indicated there were some issues with the adoption of the two curricula in the building.
CKLA, she told the board, is a guaranteed and viable curriculum, adding she doesn’t believe the school will see the gaps with CKLA it is currently seeing.
Vining also indicated issues with the curricula led to lack of clarity and, for students, an inconsistent or incoherent experience.
Midway through the 2024-2025 school year, she indicated, there began to be chatter about changing curricula, with a survey showing staff evenly split on the matter.
The school ultimately opted to look at new options, with Vining noting they owe it to the students to have a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
Kirkham explained the teachers are “really excited” about the new curriculum and having a fully aligned system from kindergarten through eighth grade, which she noted is also cool given the possibility of the district building a K-8 building in the future.
Vining noted the curriculum helps disadvantaged kids close achievement gaps and noted the “great growth” at the middle school, adding that the elementary school needs to jump on that.
Board member Amanda Schick asked about intervention with CKLA.
Vining noted that is a con of the curriculum, but added the elementary school has a good intervention system that results in great growth for students.
Vining also acknowledged it could be difficult for multilingual students, but that the representative has ways that can help mitigate difficulties and that there may be supports the school needs to put in place for English language learners.
Board member Tim Taylor asked about tests, with Vining explaining that’s currently a stumbling block, but that CKLA has assessments built in and that it will align with benchmark testing the school uses that is created by the same company as CKLA.
In response to a question from Schick about the rollout of the new curriculum, Vining explained the school was incorporating seeds into professional development and some teachers were piloting the curriculum.
She added there would be ongoing support next year.
randi@pagosasun.com
>