Center for the Collaborative Classroom is appreciative of the efforts of the TEA Review Team in its review of Collaborative Literacy, grades K–2. Collaborative Literacy is one of four core ELA programs and the only one developed and distributed by a nonprofit organization on the Proclamation 2019 Instructional Materials Adoption List. As educators engage with the reviews, we encourage them to consider the additional information provided in this response.
Collaborative Classroom made editorial revisions to strengthen the Collaborative Literacy instruction to ensure that the curriculum meets the TEKS. The revisions that were made after the initial review period were submitted to and approved by TEA and the State Board of Education for inclusion. Suggestions for ways teachers may address the additional standards that remain are provided here. The program also meets 100% of the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) required for the K–5 literacy curriculum.
At Collaborative Classroom, we believe fundamentally that social and emotional learning are inextricably linked with academic development. Students thrive in an inclusive classroom environment in which they and their thinking are valued and teachers have confidence in their ability to learn. Creating this inclusive community is necessary for deep learning to occur; therefore, the program materials are designed with a dual focus on academics and socialemotional learning.
We also believe that an effective curriculum is designed to shift the cognitive capacity of thinking and work to the students. Teacher facilitation of student thinking gives all students opportunities to grapple with challenging lesson content. The program materials include embedded supports to assist teachers with shifting the cognitive work to the students. Collaborative Classroom is committed to ensuring that students construct knowledge and build speaking, listening, and other social competencies as they develop deep literacy skills.
In Collaborative Literacy, instructional time in classrooms is supportive of the developmental process of reading on a continuum of learning—with more time devoted to explicit and systematic decoding instruction in the early grades and more time devoted to comprehension in the upper grades. The program design includes ample amounts of time for students to read and be read to so their knowledge, vocabulary, and love of reading builds.