On Tuesday, May 26, the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Education voted to adopt a new English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum that would be implemented starting this fall in elementary schools for the 2026-2027 school year.
The vote was introduced as an informational item at the May 12 meeting when questions and concerns arose over the new curriculum, Benchmark. Paden Elementary parent Emily Allegrotti had attended the meeting to point out that, among other issues, the Benchmark curriculum lacks chapter books and novels. Most of Benchmark’s curriculum consists of excerpts and passages from books. Other parents and educators who did not attend the meeting also voiced their alarm at the curriculum online and on social media.
As reported in an earlier Alameda Post article, AUSD Board Clerk Jennifer Williams echoed the concerns of Allegrotti. After further consideration and being reassured by AUSD staff that the district would supplement the curriculum with extra novels, Williams, along with the rest of the AUSD board, voted to adopt the curriculum in a 4-0 vote on May 26 (Heather Little was absent).
Williams stated in an email to the Post that AUSD staff member Erin Ashworth “indicated that she had already started surveying our teachers about what novels work in their classrooms and was collecting data on which full text to purchase to supplement the curriculum that we adopt.”
AUSD is spending $1.4 million to implement the new curriculum. When asked if there were any other curricula that include more chapter books, Community Affairs Senior Manager Susan Davis told the Post in an email, “Other curricula may include more chapter books. But ultimately, they did not score as high on other, crucial elements related to reading and writing instruction.”
Davis listed some of those elements: “Strong, systematic phonics instruction; clear instructional routines; culturally Responsive instruction; vertical alignment through the grades (i.e., skills, knowledge, and vocabulary build year after year).”
The Post reached out to Paden Elementary Principal Tri Nguyen, who explained the challenges of adopting a single elementary school curriculum for all grades. Nguyen stated that kindergarten, first, and second graders have very different ELA needs from those of third, fourth, and fifth graders. “At the heart of this challenge is the balance between two critical priorities: supporting students in learning to read [K-2] and empowering them in reading to learn [3-5],” he explained.
Nguyen acknowledged the lack of chapter books for third through fifth graders in the Benchmark curriculum and stated that Paden Elementary was planning on supplementing it with their own books. “As we implement the newly adopted curriculum, we recognize there are opportunities for enhancement,” he said.
Jenny Zippin, a second-grade teacher at Paden Elementary, also spoke to the Post about Benchmark. Teachers tried out three proposed curricula, she said, and “Benchmark was the best of the three.”
Zippin has been a teacher for 26 years and has taught at Paden for 13 of them. She is frank in her curriculum assessments, saying that Benchmark, while not perfect, is an improvement over the current curriculum, Collaborative Classroom (CC). She found CC to be “lacking because it did not put books in kids’ hands unless it was in a small group.” She also noted, “It was weak in grammar support. It was disjointed because oftentimes, teachers had to supplement too much.”
Like others, Zippin acknowledged that she would be supplementing Benchmark with books from her own classroom library. “Everyone has a personal class library,” she explained. When asked if new teachers would also have a class library, Zippin said that it was common practice for veteran teachers to share resources with new teachers.
That is a concern Allegrotti holds. “What about a first-year teacher walking into an empty fourth- or fifth-grade classroom for the first time?” she questioned. “With Benchmark, it is unclear how many full books that new teachers’ students will be able to hold, fall in love with, and read from cover to cover.”
Allegrotti also would have appreciated a more open and transparent curriculum adoption process, she noted. A review committee made up of 31 elementary school teachers chose six curricula to review and consider, and then chose three of them to pilot in schools during the 2025-2026 school year.
AUSD Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi told the Post in email, “Literacy is a hotly debated topic in schools these days, and I appreciate the thorough vetting, piloting, and inquiry that our committee members brought to this review process over the last two years.”
However, Allegrotti demurred, saying, “Benchmark solves a lot of problems. I also believe it’s important to be honest about the problems that Benchmark creates.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that voting was postponed from the May 12 meeting. The introduction at the May 12 meeting was informational, and the May 26 vote took place as scheduled. We regret the error.
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen.
