Resources to Refine your ELA Materials Implementation

On June 17, 2021, CalCurriculum and the California Department of Education hosted a free virtual workshop focused on the implementation of English language arts materials.  The workshop’s objectives were for participants to:

• Understand the role the California Department of Education (CDE) plays in the instructional materials pathway as well as to learn about the state literacy plan and the support available for implementing ELA programs.
• Learn more about the resources and services  the California Curriculum Collaborative Initiative offers.
• Interpret EdReports’ ELA curriculum reviews and audit current ELA materials for quality.
• Build at least one new solution to a challenge in ELA materials implementation.

Participants from the 19 districts in attendance shared their satisfaction with what they learned and are eager to use best practices to continue to refine their ELA Implementation. Districts called out a common goal of rigorous, standards-aligned instruction for each and every learner. 

We’d love to share a few of the main takeaways from the workshop that could support your own ELA implementation:

There are three key areas of a successful ELA implementation program:

(1) Quality of Materials: Do the instructional materials that have been adopted and how well those materials match students’ and teachers’ needs? You can audit your own materials by using our reports at https://calcurriculum.org/reports-ela/.

(2) Launch of Materials: Consider the professional development that prepares teachers, principals and coaches to deliver the materials as well as the expectations and communications about the use of those materials.

(3) Delivery of Materials: Commit to the on-going teaching and learning in classrooms and the necessary professional development and support needed from school leadership and coaches for teachers to practice high-quality instruction.

No matter where you are in your ELA program implementation, there are ways of continuing to refine processes to benefit all learners.

We recommend picking one of the three key areas above and committing to one solution for your ELA program for the fall. The ELA Implementation Workbook is a helpful resource for deciding what to tackle first.

Workshop participants found a number of resources and tools shared during their time together to be particularly helpful including:

• CalCurriculum’s Implementation Guidance Toolkit: Actionable tools for the continuous improvement of your ELA materials implementation including our free ELA Implementation Workbook.
• EdReports: Reviews of K-12 instructional materials that can be used to help determine the quality of instructional materials.
• California School Dashboard and System of Support (CA Dept of Education) 
• ELA/ELD Framework – English Language Arts (CA Dept of Education) 
• CA Standards Mobile Application (CA Dept of Education)

We see more clearly than ever the need for high-quality instructional materials to facilitate equitable learning environments. We hope the resources from the workshop are valuable as you plan for a successful ELA implementation in the fall.