The end of the 2024-2025 school year brought the Oshkosh Area School District’s (OASD) elementary literacy field test to completion. The OASD field tested a new literacy curriculum - Amplify CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) - in select grade levels in elementary classrooms throughout the district. Focused on enhancing levels of literacy learning beginning with our youngest students, the District implemented the CKLA field test to fundamentally evolve our approach to early literacy and equip all students with the foundational skills they need to be successful readers, writers, and learners. This successful field test paved the way for the district to officially adopt the CKLA curriculum, which is now being implemented district-wide for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Amplify CKLA represents a significant shift in how we approach reading instruction. Unlike traditional methods, this curriculum emphasizes a knowledge-building approach based in Science of Reading principles. Along with systematic and explicit phonics, teachers implementing CKLA create a rich, engaging learning environment that connects reading with deep comprehension and critical thinking.

CLICK HERE to access previous chapters of OASD 2024-2025 CKLA literacy series.

Increased Student Interest and Confidence Across Grade Levels

At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, students who participated in literacy learning through the CKLA curriculum reflected on how the new approach significantly impacted their learning.

Shining Examples of Student Success

CJ, a fifth grader in Kim Lotten’s class at Emmeline Cook Elementary during the 2024-2025 school year, expressed greater enthusiasm for reading and writing as a result of learning within CKLA.

“What I enjoyed the most about CKLA was working as a class as we read books together,” said CJ. “Instead of everyone reading their own book, it was nice that we could all read the same story and talk about it as a class.” CJ shared his preference for working in groups as opposed to reading individually, and that the format of the CKLA collaborative reading helped him to better connect to the text - something that he has struggled with in previous grade levels.

“At the very beginning of the year, CJ was sitting at the edge of the carpet, doing what I was telling him to do, but he was not totally engaged,” explained Ms. Lotten. “But, by the second unit when we started learning about ancient civilizations, CJ became a new learner. He was raising his hand, participating in his group work, reading to learn - and reading because he wanted to.” 

CJ also indicated that he felt a greater interest in writing due to the historic subject matter of the stories built into the CKLA curriculum. “Writing about the Maya, Aztec, and Inca was fun because we were writing in our own words,” CJ reflected. “I like learning and writing about each of the three social classes in each civilization.”

Reflecting upon his experience as a student within the CKLA field test, CJ indicated a significant change in his outlook of his literacy learning compared to his previous school years.

“I feel more confident than last year,” said CJ, “When it’s CKLA time in class, I want to write more and read more about the story. Like, when the unit is over, I still want to read the book more.”

“CJ is a great example of what CKLA can do to a reader,” said Ms. Lotten.

Similar to CJ, Sedona, a second grader in Cheryl Elliot’s class at Lakeside Elementary during the CKLA field test, noticed a sizable difference in her own literacy skills.

Having had previous challenges to connect with reading chapter books and finding it difficult at times to write in an open format, Sedona appreciated the visual style of the CKLA reader books and the structure of the writing practice books. 

“When we look at Sedona’s early writing this year, we see that she used sentences that were very brief in description,” described Ryan King, principal of Lakeside Elementary. “Now, she’s adding detail and she’s expressing all of herself as a reader and as a writer in new ways that are allowing her to build confidence and find success.”

“Since I’ve been practicing a lot, I can write better and read better,” Sedona reflected. “Now I can read almost any word. Now I feel confident with myself.”

The boost of confidence from the change of instructional approach also caused a shift in Sedona’s classroom participation. 

“It helps me by like, sounding out words and asking questions,” Sedona shared. “Now, I don’t really get scared to ask questions as much.”

A Parent’s Perspective of At-home Changes

Tania, CJ’s mother, observed a noticeable increase in her son’s level of engagement within literacy learning as early as the fall.  Tania recounted how CJ would talk about what he had learned in CKLA that day, and that would lead to conversations with his family about the content of the material. Tania shared that the Ancient Civilizations unit prompted a discussion about her own trip to Chichén Itzá in Mexico, and a broader conversation about world culture.

Explaining her son’s usual gravitation towards subjects like math and physical education, Tania was excited to observe CJ’s increased interest in not only the subject matter of the class reading material, but the process of discovery and information gathering through reading. “He’s just so much more curious,” Tania noted, “And curiosity is essential to get kids interested to learn and take the next steps in empowering themselves to want to know more.”

Tania also shared gratitude for the implementation of the 2024-2025 CKLA field test and expressed excitement about her son’s attitude toward future learning. “I’m so thrilled that the district has adopted CKLA because he’s even asked, ‘What do we learn about in sixth grade?’,” said Tania. “That alone - if you have an eleven or twelve year old asking you, ‘What’s our reading going to be next year?’ - that says a lot.”

Teacher and Principal Reflections

Looking back at their observations of student growth throughout the 2024-2025 school year, teachers and administrators expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming 2025-2026 school year’s full implementation of the CKLA literacy curriculum within Oshkosh elementary schools.

“CKLA is really a comprehensive literacy curriculum that encompasses speaking, listening, reading and writing - all of the parts of the Science of Reading that we have been craving in the Oshkosh Area School District,” described Ms. Lotten. “All the different modalities that CKLA provides, bring students to a level of understanding that is so much richer and deeper.”

“Students are really skill-building to be able to unlock code. We see very explicit, direct instruction that gives students the tools they need to bring back to the text that they read to find success,” said Mr. King. “We’ve put ourselves in a great position to learn a lot more as educators for how this resource is going to be successful for our students. I’m excited for what 2025-2026 will bring in how we continue to grow our readers.”

Why It Matters

The Amplify CKLA literacy curriculum is being implemented across all OASD elementary schools during the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. The District has set high expectations for student achievement in reading and through this innovative curriculum, we remain committed to significantly improving literacy outcomes for all students.

Join Our Journey

We encourage everyone in our community - parents, educators, and residents - to stay engaged with us as we explore the evolving impact of CKLA and its potential to transform literacy learning for all of our students. Literacy is not just an academic goal - it's a pathway to opportunity. Together, we're building a stronger future, one reader at a time.