Stories

About our new English Language Arts curriculum for K-Fifth Graders

July 30, 2025

Elevating reading, writing, and critical thinking at the Roaring Fork Valley’s independent school

A great literacy curriculum helps teachers guide their work to create enthusiastic, strong readers and writers. Aspen Country Day School recently chose a vibrant program called RedThread, launching in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade in September 2025.

A message from Bo Adams, Director of Curriculum & Instruction Aspen Country Day School

After a thoughtful and reflective evaluation process, the ACDS Curriculum Committee (named below) has selected RedThread by the Lavinia Group as the new Lower School Literacy /English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum, beginning in the 2025–26 school year.

This decision reflects our commitment to providing an academically robust, comprehensive, and engaging literacy program that supports all learners and aligns with our school’s mission and values. All faculty and staff had an opportunity to review the three finalist curricula between May 23 and June 6, and those who chose to complete a feedback survey preferred RedThread at a 75% rate, as well.

Why RedThread?

RedThread stood out for several compelling reasons:

Grounded in the Science of Reading: RedThread integrates research-backed practices in phonics, fluency, comprehension, and writing across all grade levels, ensuring foundational literacy development. It is purposefully designed as a knowledge-building literacy program with foundational work continuing in grades 3-5.
High-Quality Texts: The curriculum features rich, diverse literature that reflects a wide range of voices and experiences—inviting students to connect personally, think critically, and engage deeply with what they read.
Project-Based and Inquiry-Driven: Each unit culminates in a meaningful, real-world project that challenges students to apply their literacy skills in authentic ways. This structure supports cross-disciplinary thinking and student agency.
Strong Writing Emphasis: With a dedicated focus on writing every day, RedThread builds student stamina, voice, and command of the written word through explicit instruction and modeled exemplars.
Rapid Gains in Early Literacy: A recent study conducted by NYU showed significant improvements in decoding, fluency, and comprehension among students using the RedThread Foundations program—highlighting its effectiveness in early reading instruction.

Why this is right for Aspen Country Day School

Our committee considered a variety of factors, including alignment with the Science of Reading, curricular coherence, teacher support, student engagement, and time constraints within our current, 60-minute literacy block. RedThread’s integrated design and modular lesson structure make it a strong fit for our instructional schedule while maintaining a rich, student-centered approach to learning. RedThread also leans more heavily to social studies knowledge building, and we believe it integrates more naturally with our existing science curriculum.

Additionally, the Lavinia Group offers robust professional development and implementation support, which will help our teachers launch the program with confidence and fidelity for the start of school in September 2025.

Thank you to our generous donors for philanthropic support of this initiative, and thank you to teachers, students, and parents for your continued support. This is an important step forward in strengthening our literacy program and delivering on our mission to ignite curiosity, confidence, and critical thinking in our learners.