1. Burbio’s Signals Tracker analyzes millions of pages of district school board discussions and delivers clients highly specific insights on district intent. This week we looked at signals from hundreds of districts adopting ELA in the last 60 days and note the following trends:
- Shift Toward "Science of Reading" and Structured Literacy away from balanced literacy. This approach emphasizes instruction in foundational skills, such as phonics, word study, and background knowledge and is often driven by state legislative mandates.
- Adoption of High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM): Selection committees utilize state-approved rubrics to measure program efficacy before implementation.
- Integrated Support for Multilingual and English Learners (ELs) by integrating English Language Development (ELD) standards directly into the core ELA curriculum.
- Piloting and Evaluation Cycle Shifts: Rather than quick adoptions, districts are employing extensive, multi-year evaluation cycles. This can involve stakeholder committees, piloting multiple programs at once, utilizing standardized evaluation rubrics, and 30- to 60-day public display periods to gather community input before board approval.
- Pairing ELA adoption with targeted, evidence-based supports in phonics and reading intervention. These layered approaches, often within MTSS frameworks, are focused on strengthening Tier 2 and Tier 3 support to close foundational literacy gaps.
- Diversification of High School ELA Offerings: There is a trend toward moving away from traditional, strictly linear English pathways (e.g., standard English III or IV) in favor of modernized, specialized electives that aim to increase student engagement.
In next week's Tracker we will review the biggest challenges districts are facing with ELA adoptions.
Click here to schedule a short demo to see how Burbio's foundational datasets, district contacts, and customized Signals can power your K-12 business
2. On a recent training call, a client emphasized to their team the core strategy of using Burbio's data to “show them you know them": This reflects the expectation that districts have for partners to call with a full understanding of their context and priorities, moving beyond a single reference point about an initiative. Burbio’s District Research and Territory Planning Agent supports this by generating sector-specific summaries of a district’s initiatives, priorities, and vendors from Burbio's foundational datasets. The following is an excerpt of summary for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, MD, for the mental health category:
Budget and Funding
- In 2027 the district has budgeted to continue their Digital Social-Emotional Learning platform for all elementary and middle schools. The license had previously been paid for through ESSER grant funds.
- The district is requesting a Special Instruction and Early Intervention budget of $67.6 million in 2026-27, an increase from $60.9 million in 2025-26.
- The district is recommending an increase of over $1 million, to $4.8 million, for their Special Education Birth to Five Programming & Service Accountability Program.
Recent Programs and Initiatives
- The district recently established a policy regarding student access to telehealth appointments during the school day within secondary school settings.
- For 2026-27 the district has budgeted to add a universal behavioral health screener for grades 6-12.
- For 2026-27 the district is budgeting an allocation of **$722,130** for new staff: two school counselors, one school psychologist, one social worker, and one pupil personnel worker.
Example Vendors
- The district is working with AMN Allied Services, LLC, for speech language pathology services, supporting students with communication needs.
- The district has an agreement for Psychiatric Services with Interdynamics, Inc., Maryland Center for Psychiatry, and Thrive Behavioral Health.
- The district works with Scenario Learning LLC dba Vector Solutions, for Compliance Training Software for safety and compliance training for staff.
Click here for the complete Anne Arundel County Public Schools - Mental Health Category Report from Burbio's District Research Agent. Note the DRA generates reports from all K-12 categories, such as facilities, STEM, CTE, transportation, staffing, security and more.
3. Burbio maintains a database of district checkbook registers covering over 20 million PreK-12 students. This week we continue our analysis of market penetration for California and Texas. The charts below show the percentage of districts in each state that have written a check to the supplier in question at least once in the last twelve months. The first chart shows suppliers that have a higher market penetration in Texas:In the next chart are examples of suppliers with a higher market penetration in California:
4. Burbio's State-Level Funding Tracker features billions of dollars of continuously updated, state-specific grants for PreK-12 schools, and clients use the data to engage districts before they have applied for the funds. Afterschool and summer programs involve products and services from a wide range of industry suppliers due to the breadth of programming offered. Below are some recently announced grants in this area:
- In Missouri, the School Age Community afterschool program is targeted to students ages 5-12 to promote cognitive, social and recreational health.
- In New Yorkm the Extended School Day/School Violence Prevention Program is deisgned to support student achievement through after-school enrichment or to enhance building security and safety protocols.
- Oregon's State Summer Learning Grant is targeted to student learning growth with a primary focus on literacy.
- Nebraska features a School Bus for the Arts Grant which is designed to assist with the cost of field trips to attend arts events.