LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) changed its reading curriculum for elementary and middle schools this academic year. The new curriculum is now the same across all schools in the district. 

What You Need To Know

  • Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) has implemented a new curriculum: expeditionary learning

  • The curriculum includes two components, phonetics and comprehension, and is the same across all schools 

  • In previous years, the decision-making council at each individual school chose the curriculum 

  • A Wilder Elementary School first-grade teacher said this is helping her students retain what they learn better

For Zerina Kicic, first-grade teacher at Wilder Elementary School, teaching comes with several responsibilities, including making sure her students can read well. 

"One of the things I love about first grade [is] from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, you see so much growth," Kicic said. "It's amazing." 

Kicic has been teaching first grade for five years. This year, the district implemented a new curriculum: expeditionary learning. It has two components, phonetics and comprehension. 

“Really, it comes down to how do we learn how to read? How do we become a human who did not know letters, sound, anything like that, to now being able to utilize all of that when we're reading words?" Kicic said.

Each school's decision-making council picked the reading curriculum in previous years rather than being the same across the board. So far, the content is sticking with Kicic's students better than it did in previous years, she said. 

"One of the benefits that we have with students all having the same curriculum is that regardless of what school within JCPS they go to, if they change schools for whatever reason, they're going to be able to pick up right where they left off," Kicic said. 

To reinforce reading skills learned in the classroom, Kicic said it's important to sneak in some reading at home. 

“I have two parents who will do flashcards in the car; they're practicing reading, and it gets the kids excited," she said. "When parents are taking that initiative, it shows students this is something important."

According to Kentucky Department of Education’s most recent school report card, more than half of Kentucky elementary and middle school students are not up to grade level in reading. Last school year, 53% of elementary students, 55% of middle-school students and 55% of high-school students fell below a proficient reading level. 

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