Newburyport Schools Adopt Fishtank Literacy Curriculum, Expand School Choice to Close Budget Gap

NEWBURYPORT — June 24, 2026 — Newburyport School Committee adopts Fishtank Learning as its new K-5 literacy curriculum and expands school choice enrollment to close a $93,901 budget gap. The committee voted 5-0 with two abstentions Wednesday to add 19 school choice seats across grades six, nine, and ten — bringing total district choice enrollment to approximately 215 students, or 10.2 percent of total enrollment — after rejecting options that would have cut middle school athletics or specialist academic positions. Director of Literacy and Learning Dr. Thomas Abrams presented the results of a two-year review process in which 86 percent of piloting teachers selected Fishtank over the competing finalist, CKLA, citing student engagement with book-in-hand authentic texts and daily integrated writing. The committee also approved three proposed 2028 overnight field trips — to Japan, the Dominican Republic, and the Alps and Mediterranean — on a 5-0 vote with two abstentions, alongside a new standardized vendor-comparison and student-feedback framework developed by Principal Andrew Wolf after concerns were raised at the prior meeting. Member Brianna Higgins argued that the school choice expansion protects student experience at the high school level: "A comprehensive high school with a lot of options and opportunities for kids to explore is a benefit to their student experience, and to do that you need a certain number of students."