Parents and teachers asked the Garden City USD 457 Board of Education on Thursday to prioritize dyslexia identification and evidence-based supports as the district narrows choices for a new K–12 English language arts curriculum.

Kylie Boyd and Amanda Lee told trustees they and other Garden City families are facing reading challenges for students with dyslexia and urged the district to partner with the Phillips Fundamental Learning Center in Wichita. Boyd said USD 457 has arranged a dyslexia simulation on Nov. 8 for district staff (8:30–11:30 a.m.) and the public (12:30–3:30 p.m.) and that more than 65 educators and 30 community members have already signed up. “The first step in creating change is awareness,” Boyd said, and she encouraged board members to attend.

District staff described the ELA adoption timeline and how teacher feedback and lesson demonstrations are being incorporated. Heather Stegman, director of elementary instruction, said the adoption team is reviewing three main options—HMH (Into Reading/Into Literature), Sabas, and Amplify/CKLA—and that teachers requested additional demo lessons, implementation surveys and time to plan sample lessons. Stegman said the goal remains to present a recommended selection to the board in February 2026 but that the team will take a little more time to accommodate teacher-requested steps; teacher selection work originally planned for October will be delayed.

Administrators discussed alignment with tiered reading supports. Staff noted that while a rigorous tier-1 curriculum rooted in structured literacy can reduce the number of students needing intensive interventions, some students with dyslexia will still require tier-2 or tier-3 supports. The district has been using UFLI (a K–2 phonics program) and leaders said they want an integrated K–12 curriculum so phonics instruction and decodables align across grades; they flagged that UFLI may be most useful continuing as a tier-2/tier-3 resource if the board adopts a comprehensive K–12 product.

Board members asked about cost, vendor responses, and whether publishers can demonstrate lessons in the same classrooms for direct comparison; staff confirmed publishers will present demo lessons at specified grade levels and that they are collecting educator and student feedback. Stegman said staff are consulting review sources such as EdReports and Louisiana Believes and have reached out to districts already implementing candidate materials.

The district and the parent presenters emphasized ongoing collaboration: Boyd and Lee said they are already working with district staff and expressed appreciation that the district committed to staff participation in the simulation on Jan. 6 and community sessions in November. Trustees and administrators agreed the adoption decision should consider structured literacy and the needs of students with dyslexia as part of implementation planning.