New reading programme starts in K-2 only; grades 3-5 wait a year

What happened

Ridgewood spent several years choosing a new kindergarten-to-grade-5 English language arts programme, a structured-literacy curriculum giving explicit reading and writing instruction. The 2026-27 budget funds the rollout for kindergarten through grade 2 and states that grades 3 to 5 will not transition until 2027-28. At the March 16, 2026 budget hearing an elementary principal asked the board to fund the change in full, calling it a multi-year undertaking that would affect a very large number of students.

Why it matters to families

The district's own data is the reason this matters: state test results show English passing rates dropping sharply between grade 5 and grade 6 in three successive groups, and students with disabilities passed English at 43 percent against 84 percent districtwide. Children now in grades 3 to 5 will finish elementary school under the old programme.

The evidence

The 2026-27 budget presentation lists 'Grades 3-5 will not transition to the new literacy program until 2027-28' among the impacts of its austerity measures and names K-2 ELA transition as the funded part. The October 27, 2025 state test presentation records the grade 5 to 6 declines and says the new K-5 programme was under review for possible 2026-27 adoption.

The source