When: Hempfield School Board meeting, April 9.
What happened: In an 8-1 vote, the board voted to adopt the Wit &Wisdom as its English language arts program for kindergarten through sixth grade. Board member Justin Wolgemuth cast the dissenting vote.
Background: The district first piloted the Wit & Wisdom and Savvas programs in 2022-23. In May, the board voted to extend the pilot for another year to gather additional data. Results from a survey of staff, students and parents showed Wit & Wisdom was the preferred program, according to Doug Dandridge, assistant superintendent, and Jason Hoffman, elementary curriculum supervisor. Those responding noted a positive difference in reading and writing skills, and students feeling motivated and challenged to read. Teachers also shared they felt students were more engaged with Wit &Wisdom.
Data: The two programs showed consistent growth throughout the past year based on Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and data from other assessments that measure the acquisition of early literacy, skills readiness, and academic growth in language arts, according to a presentation by Dandridge in February. Some data showed that while both programs showed stronger results early on, Wit & Wisdom provided stronger results overall. Wit &Wisdom’s strengths included book knowledge acquisition and critical thinking skills. Drawbacks were that it was more work for the teachers; it had no explicit phonics instruction; and it lacked online resources.
Public comment: Four community members shared their opinions on the proposed language program with favorable results. No public comments were made opposing the program during this meeting. Speakers urged the board to listen to its staff members and believe the data when it came time to make a decision. Kaleb Best, a parent who has two children in the district, shared that he thought Wit &Wisdom offered a more challenging framework and encouraged more in-depth reading skills and student engagement. Farmdale Elementary School Principal Trisha Pearson added that while she was disappointed the pilot program extended into an additional year, she was pleased the district listened to the data and its staff members when it came to moving forward with Wit & Wisdom.
Board comment: In response to his dissenting vote, board member Justin Wolgemuth said he “feels that the Savvas program is a longstanding company that has proven results. They have the resources to advance the program and they have already made adjustments to its program. I believe in the long run, they will be much further ahead than the Wit & Wisdom program.”
Cost: Cost of the overall program totals $1.72 million. Professional development and coaching services for the program total $302,155.
Next steps: The district plans to write curriculum and develop pacing guides for each grade level as well as provide professional development to staff members. Additionally, the district will develop materials to support instruction as well as have Great Minds, publisher of Wit & Wisdom, provide coaching for the 2024-25 school year. The district plans to offer this programming for the 2024-25 school year.
What’s next: The board will meet for an education and programs committee and a policy, personnel and legal committee meeting at 5 p.m. on April 18.
