[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6603372,"mediaKeyId","3000324-8780d2344e32816b83f87240bbc76c88","parentId",3000324,"title","Committee approves curriculum budget, professional development contract and calendar changes; votes 4‑0","audioSeconds",63,"startMs",1521000,"endMs",1584000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3000324-8780d2344e32816b83f87240bbc76c88&start=1521&end=1584","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3000324-8780d2344e32816b83f87240bbc76c88/thumbnail_1521000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6603372/Pennsylvania/Committee-approves-curriculum-budget-professional-development-contract-and-calendar-changes-votes-40","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6603372-c37478a76eac86731c2c892fbead1853/orig.mp4?Expires=1775163225&Signature=kMPnAHebBE4NAknoH4joCEKjGxUg4xZpWFEhPRHSuatuulfag4B6jkheLo8-FTYZAwntKqBNIwyQOaV48CUWATvKMJUdIqceQXtbN0m~XkY18Dp2l6MXvf~pF3idbE7UlfaulWGVuh2b7w-q~xDVNWvjV9gzkLyXPi5HbUc514Y~lsAXH9bLVSTfHThLvYPzPvj2eR55jUkBfDYRn6ztR71xijgp1KstWJ13OSvOaojwZG6b9T6JlTrjM9Fo3MQ0TRhNiho~BKjfJEC46SLhFRvDFUT9JFy9Yy9W4LLpQM2mMOZ4~G-6pB~S7y9j-nRRL~HI4BwrTyQT9j8iwxQ-aQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","West Chester Area School District","date","2025-04-15T22:34:13.293Z","article","The West Chester Area School District Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee approved several consent and action items in an unspecified April meeting, including the 2025‑26 curriculum budget, a professional development contract with AJ Giuliani, a revised 2024‑25 calendar and a holiday resolution. All items passed by voice vote, each recorded as 4‑0.

Dr. Brant presented the 2025‑26 curriculum budget proposal, which he described as a $2,500,000 request. \"The majority of that money is grounded in our ELA elementary and ELA secondary curriculum for next year,\" the presenter said. The proposal also includes a significant allocation for science, and the district said continued curriculum decisions (for example, elementary ELA) could affect final allocations. The committee voted to approve the 2025‑26 curriculum budget by a 4‑0 voice vote.

The committee also approved a contract to engage AJ Giuliani for next school year to support professional development. Doctor Brown said the contract covers a kickoff session and eight additional sessions over the school year; the district reported an overall cost of $40,000 for nine official sessions. Giuliani will begin work in May with a group of accelerators and run a full kickoff in October; the district said some additional informal sessions have already occurred. The presenter said Giuliani’s work will focus on student engagement, student learning, evidence of learning and connections to the district’s portrait of a graduate. The meeting record notes the district intends Giuliani’s AI work primarily to help teachers plan lessons and performance tasks rather than to be a tool for students.

The committee approved a final revised 2024‑25 school calendar that shifts the last student and teacher days to half days on June 10, June 11 and June 12. The calendar will be sent for final board vote at the end of the month, committee members said.

Committee members also approved a holiday resolution that enumerates the district’s fixed holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving and an additional fixed date) and authorizes five additional days off (Labor Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day and the Friday attached to spring break on April 3 for the 2025‑26 year). The resolution passed 4‑0.

Earlier in the meeting the committee approved the March 17, 2025 teaching, learning and equity committee minutes by voice vote (4‑0).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","West Chester Area School District Teaching, Learning & Equity Committee Meeting 4/15/2025","oneSentenceSummary","In the same meeting, the Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee approved the 2025‑26 curriculum budget ($2.5 million), a $40,000 professional‑development contract with AJ Giuliani, a revised 2024‑25 school calendar (last student/teacher days moved to June 10–12 half days) and a holiday resolution; all votes carried 4‑0.","taxTitle","West Chester Area SD, School Districts, Pennsylvania","taxId",14586,"location","Pennsylvania","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6603377,"West Chester Area SD committee approves Lexia PowerUp for secondary reading intervention",819,349000,1168000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3000324-8780d2344e32816b83f87240bbc76c88&start=349&end=1168","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3000324-8780d2344e32816b83f87240bbc76c88/thumbnail_349000.jpg","/articles/6603377/Pennsylvania/West-Chester-Area-SD-committee-approves-Lexia-PowerUp-for-secondary-reading-intervention","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6603377-414613dd03375eff383103f031cb7b57/orig.mp4?Expires=1775163225&Signature=cEXU9DZAZsMALOumtf8z1mD3THV0A2HQXYETebRCHWCVspc3I-1mvNhbhBolRCWh5Th9p4E1Othw4C0oJl7PhPTKLp79YtgJG7jBJXp4mhQJ7nz4IQOrqY1SdDeNmZCvKpMNBJnYxfKJbqCjP2p~kIR7hO8JC60RyPBWkULMtf6V04SrLLdAY5sPLVR4Oh3SHo-PA1g6RqaVixo3hlEj2YzZX~5XaFrzPins6jbt7FvcFQCcMwcp4kFnB5y9NdR51i0A2SCMgo0KpdwzEeqjGhWOinPeNgNNRDSV09mC2PBjrwGyKMJHfe5jzDCO3J-MdlvqEQ3Ygwan6~da-lkUVA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The West Chester Area School District Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee on an unspecified April meeting approved Lexia PowerUp as a core instructional resource for secondary reading intervention classes.

Kara Bailey, supervisor of secondary English language arts and reading, told the committee the district convened a review team of teachers, administrators and parents to evaluate secondary materials and recommended Lexia PowerUp to support tier‑2 reading intervention at the middle‑ and high‑school levels. \"This is a resource that would support our tier 2 reading intervention classes at the secondary level,\" Bailey said.

Committee members heard that Lexia PowerUp personalizes instruction after an initial automated placement assessment and organizes instruction into three strands—word study, grammar and comprehension—designed for adolescent learners. Bailey said the program focuses on developmentally appropriate work such as Greek and Latin roots and multisyllabic word analysis, and pairs an online adaptive component with teacher‑led small‑group resources. \"One of the aspects of Lexia PowerUp that the students and teachers have found to be most impactful is the level of personalization for our students,\" Bailey said.

During public comments, resident Judy DeFonzo emphasized the importance of human instruction alongside any computer‑based program and raised questions about whether the resource would be used as core instruction or only in intervention. \"Best practices with teaching kids to read is always to have a human and small group 1 to 1 instruction depending upon the student's needs,\" DeFonzo said. Bailey and committee members clarified to the group that the district intends Lexia PowerUp to supplement teacher instruction in tier‑2 intervention settings, not to replace teacher‑led instruction.

Bailey presented early implementation data from the district's small pilot of the program: students completed 76 word‑study units, 28 grammar units and 88 comprehension units during the pilot window; at the start of the year, 77 percent of pilot students had at least one skill in the foundational zone, and by February the pilot moved 30 percent of students out of that foundational zone. Bailey noted overlap in the pilot cohort with English‑language‑learner (ELL) students and said teachers used Lexia data to set individual goals with students.

Committee discussion focused on buy‑in and developmental appropriateness for adolescents, access to printable teacher materials from the program's teacher hub, and whether students receive ongoing feedback. Bailey said students can view their progress and work with teachers on goal setting; she described classroom rotations in which teachers pull small groups for targeted instruction while others work independently on personalized strands.

The committee voted to approve Lexia PowerUp for secondary reading intervention classes; the motion carried 4‑0. The committee did not identify a mover or seconder on the record.","The Teaching, Learning and Equity Committee approved Lexia PowerUp as a tier‑2, secondary reading intervention resource after a presentation from Kara Bailey highlighting personalization, structured literacy strands and early pilot results; the vote was 4‑0.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee approves curriculum budget, professional development contract and calendar changes; votes 4‑0

West Chester Area SD committee approves Lexia PowerUp for secondary reading intervention