EXCITING NEWS & BIG CHANGES

At Tuesday night's board meeting, HPISD trustees shared some exciting news!

Lucy Calkins Units of Study will NOT return to K-8 classrooms in the fall.

• Over the summer and guided by newly hired literacy consultants, HPISD will select new English Language Arts (ELA) anchor resources aligned to the science of reading.
• The new ELA materials will be in place for the 2022-2023 school year.
• HPISD educators will participate in targeted professional development necessary for the shift in literacy instruction.
• Specifically for grades 5-8, new grammar and spelling resources will be added this fall.

To hear the literacy portion of the board meeting, visit Park Cities People on Facebook (45:30 mark).

HPISD has hired two literacy consultants to guide the district in identifying, adopting, and implementing new ELA materials aligned to the Science of Reading.

• Dr. Thea Woodruff: University of Texas professor, UT Meadows Center researcher, and principal author of original Texas Reading Academies
• Robyn Hartzell: Educator with decades of experience in various roles, including teacher, instructional coach, interventionist, trainer, consultant, and program coordinator at the campus and regional levels

Each consultant brings different strengths to the transition, and their selection by the the HPISD literacy subcommittee was unanimous. Dr. Woodruff and Ms. Hartzell began their work on campuses already this past week!

HPISD Trustees elected new officers for the 2022-2023 school year:

• President: Tom Sharpe
• Vice President Maryjane Bonfield
• Secretary: Bryce Benson
• Finance Chair: Doug Woodward
• TASB Delegate: Ellen Lee

Thanks to everyone who came together and worked hard to make these changes possible. HPLC Parent Leaders will continue to monitor how things are progressing this summer to keep the community informed.