MARSHALL — The new school year is underway, and the Marshall Public School District is busy with new professional development in several areas to continue growing the standards amongst student’s curriculum.

MPS is operating under a theme of “Relentless Excellence” for the 2025-26 school year, and Director of Teaching and Learning Beth Ritter provided updates at last week’s school board meeting regarding new and ongoing curriculum implementations.

“There’s a lot of PD (professional development) happening every year, but especially this year,” Ritter said. “(There are) lots of professional development in the area of curriculum, and it will be ongoing throughout the school year as well.”

The Minnesota READ Act, Reading to Ensure Academic Development, is still being implemented and growing. The act was put in place by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) going into the 2023-24 school year, and works to get every student in Minnesota reading at or above grade level every year, beginning in kindergarten. The initiative provides a statewide framework to educators, through separate phases, with structured literacy curriculum and training.

“Last year, as you know, it was Phase 1 (of the READ Act),” Ritter said. “Our elementary staff, our K-12 special-ed staff all participated. It was right around 100 staff members last year participated … Part of the Read Act also is our non-certified staff that work directly with children in the areas of reading. They have a professional development series created just for them … Which is exciting, to have them train as well.”

The MDE is expected to release the READ Act framework later this fall for middle and high school teachers to participate in and implement next school year.

“We do have our middle and high school EL (English-Learning) teachers that will be partaking in the (READ ACT) training,” Ritter said. “They get to take part in it this year, as well as a couple of staff members who switched positions in the district.”

There are also a few changes this year throughout the state with new assessment and data tracking methods, to continue monitoring how students are progressing in specific subjects.

In kindergarten through third-grade reading, Marshall uses the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessments, and fourth to 12th grade uses Capti ReadBasix. Both are mandated by the MDE.

“Thankfully, we were already using the DIBELS screener,” Ritter said. “It’s all housed online, so we do it electronically with our students, but it’s a 1-on-1 assessment, and we’re looking for the basic reading skills. How are they doing with them? It also serves as a dyslexia screener in those grades as well.”

“Then last year, MDE came out with the recommendation for grades fourth through 12th, there was one on the list. So, everyone in the state of Minnesota has to use Capti ReadBasix,” Ritter added. “It also has six different sub-tests and will give us great information. There’s also a dyslexia screener built in, so we’ll be able to identify those students with possible reading difficulties that we can help them (with).”

Kindergarten to fourth grade use mClass Math to track performances in mathematics, while fifth to 12th grade students take the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA).

Ritter described mClass Math as similar to DIBELS, while the MCA’s provide and track specific grade-level data with proficiency rates and trends.

“With all of this … We will screen all students with progress, monitor as necessary, and then report it out as well,” Ritter said. “Big changes, but we’re excited. We really are excited with these changes in our assessment world.”

There are also a few updates with curriculum standards in a few subjects, such as social studies, physical education, health and English language arts.

“The standards have to go through a long rule-making process. So, they have the standards in 2021 (for example), then they go through this long process, and then they give school districts so many years to implement them,” Ritter said, ensuring that students are still receiving the most up-to-date curriculum. “So, that’s why it seems kind of odd, (using) like 2021 standards (for) next school year, but that’s why. It’s usually, as you can see, about five years after they actually pass them.”

English language arts will be using the full implementation of the state’s 2020 standards.

“English language arts staff, (for) kindergarten through twelfth grade, did spend quite a bit of time this summer looking at their new resources,” Ritter said. “(We) had professional development with different trainers that came in, and we really are excited to have a consistent curriculum.”

Social studies will continue with the 2021 standards, and physical education uses 2018.

“Last year was the social studies year for researching curriculum, and then we order the curriculum, so they have full implementation of the 2021 standard,” Ritter said. “Physical education was also part of this past school year, being on Phase 2 of curriculum implementation. So, theirs were the 2018 standards, and they did implement them in the 23-24 school year, so they are rocking and rolling with their newest standards.”

MDE is currently developing its first-ever statewide standards for health.

“Health, right now they have national standards, but the state of Minnesota is currently developing the first ever statewide academic standards,” Ritter said. “It will probably be a while when we actually see them, so they’re working right now under the current nationwide standards.”