Winchester Schools Recommend Arts and Letters K-5 Literacy Curriculum After Yearlong Pilot

EVERETT — March 31, 2026 — Winchester schools recommend Arts and Letters K-5 literacy curriculum, ending a two-program pilot. District literacy and instructional leaders presented the School Committee on March 31 with a formal recommendation to adopt Arts and Letters for all elementary grades, citing survey data showing 100 percent of the program's piloteers recommended adoption — 96 percent without reservation — while 74 percent of respondents who piloted the competing EL Education program did not recommend it. The recommendation followed a year-long parallel pilot across Lincoln, Morocco, and Ambrose schools, with 89 percent of the elementary workforce completing the summative survey compiled by outside consultant CES. More than a dozen teachers, building leaders, a literacy coach, and a multilingual learner specialist testified to gains in student writing, critical reading, and speaking and listening skills, with special educators at both Lincoln and Ambrose describing the curriculum's embedded universal design as removing the need to visibly differentiate instruction. Full district implementation is planned for fall 2026, pending formal committee vote.