Last year, the school district created a district-wide reading plan to support literacy in the district. Likewise, each school made a plan that reflected their own goals and needs.
There are seven components to the plan. Below, I have shared with you the district's vision for each of them.
Component 1: Leadership
We believe in holding ourselves accountable as we develop and strengthen a generation of readers and writers by guiding student learning and supporting evidence-based research practices. We support teachers, administrators, and stakeholders through professional development, curriculum, and resources.
Component 2: Student Outcomes
We believe in developing clear and measurable student learning outcomes and achievement goals. We strive to guide each student to demonstrate continual growth towards individualized literacy goals in comprehension, accuracy, and fluency, while expanding vocabulary and creating lifelong readers.
Component 3: Professional Learning Opportunities
We believe teachers are lifelong learners. With a systemic plan, we will continuously provide learning opportunities for all educators and other stakeholders who assist our students in achieving goals. It is our belief that the district must provide opportunities for professional growth at each school and throughout the district by encouraging teachers to seek and achieve personal educational interest and data -driven school goals.
Component 4: Assessment Plan
We believe that continuous formative and summative assessments should be used to monitor student progress and to guide instruction for the purpose of setting individualized student achievement goals. Through progress monitoring, students’ individual needs can be established and used to drive instruction.
Component 5: Instructional Plan
We believe our goal is to provide each student with coaching on his appropriate reading level and to prescriptively guide growth as a reader. We will guide the reader’s growth with the use of:
- summative and formative assessments,
- independent and instructional reading level assessments,
- progress monitoring,
- focused, explicit instruction,
- effective use of the Continuum of Literacy Learning,
- balanced literacy approach,
- integration of content areas, and
- seamless flow of inquiry.
Component 6: Parent and Family Involvement
We believe education is a shared responsibility. Schools should use every medium possible to communicate frequently and effectively with families. It is the district’s goal to have a comprehensive involvement plan that addresses the needs of our teachers and students while encouraging parent and family participation within our schools.
Component 7: School-Community Partnerships
We believe relationships with communities, businesses, local government, educators, and parents are critical for student success and quality education. Teachers, administrators, parents and communities share the responsibility of advancing the educational mission of our district. Each of these stakeholders offers an important knowledge base and expertise as well as invaluable resources. These relationships provide a coherent continuum of services for students’
success.
What components of the district's reading plan have you noticed in your school this year?
