Principal Newsletter: Communicating a New ELA Curriculum Adoption

Curriculum adoption newsletters are some of the most consequential communications a principal sends. Families whose children are learning to read with a new program need to understand what changed and why. A newsletter that skips the explanation in favor of enthusiasm for the new program misses the audience it most needs to reach.

What Is Changing and When

Name the new curriculum. Name the grade levels affected and the start date. If the rollout is phased, explain the phases and when each one begins. Families who know when the change is coming can prepare their questions and their expectations. Families who discover the change when their child comes home with new materials feel bypassed, not informed.

Why This Curriculum Was Chosen

This is the most important section. Be specific about what drove the decision. If your school's reading data showed persistent gaps that the previous curriculum was not closing, say so. If the science of reading research influenced the decision, describe the specific approach the new curriculum takes and why it is better supported by evidence. If teacher input drove the selection, name that. Families who understand the rationale for the change trust it. Families who receive a new curriculum without explanation wonder what was wrong with the old one and feel anxious about the transition.

How the Program Works

Give families a plain-language description of the instructional approach. Not a publisher marketing summary. A description of what a lesson looks like for their child's grade level. What texts will students read? How is writing instruction structured? How is vocabulary developed? What does independent reading time look like in the new program? Families who understand what their child is doing in class can support that work at home. Families who have no idea what the new program involves cannot.

Teacher Preparation

Tell families how teachers were prepared to use the new curriculum. Summer professional development days. Coaching sessions throughout the year. Access to instructional coaches. Co-planning time with colleagues. Families who know that teachers are trained and supported to use the new program confidently are more accepting of the transition than families who worry that teachers are implementing something new without preparation.

What You Will See at Home

Tell families what changes they might notice in their child's homework, reading log format, or the way they describe their school day. If the new curriculum uses different terminology or assessment formats than the previous one, give families a brief translation. Something like: your child may come home talking about close reading passages. This is when students read a text multiple times to analyze different aspects of it. That kind of bridging language prevents confusion and builds family confidence in supporting the new approach.

Using Daystage for Curriculum Communication

Daystage makes it easy to build a curriculum adoption newsletter with a clear explanation of the change, teacher preparation information, a description of what families will notice at home, and links to program resources. You can schedule family information sessions alongside the newsletter and track which families have engaged with the communication before the program launches.