District Literacy Plan
Literacy Goal
It is the goal of Rochester Public Schools that every child reads at or above grade level, beginning in kindergarten, so that all students read well by third grade and successfully continue on the path toward college and career readiness.
- Statement of Expectations
- Definition of Proficiency
- Assessments
- Parent Notification and Involvement
- Interventions and Instructional Supports: Multi-Tiered System of Supports
- Dyslexia and Convergence Insufficiency Disorder
- Indicators
- Professional Development for Teachers
Statement of Expectations
Pre-K
The expectation of Rochester Public Schools is that all Pre-K teachers teach Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards (Early Childhood Indicators of Progress) using best practices, differentiating instruction to best meet children’s individual needs.
Our expectation is that early literacy instruction provides children with multiple daily experiences with a wide range of texts:
- read-alouds of informational texts, literature, and poetry
- shared reading experiences
- small-group interactions
- experiences with books independently and/or with a partner
In addition to experiences with texts, early literacy instruction needs to focus on children’s oral language and vocabulary development. Many opportunities for children to verbally express their thinking should be part of each day. Teachers should also model academic language and foster word consciousness.
Teachers need to have a robust instructional toolkit to address the varied needs of students in their class. It is not an expectation that all teachers use the same strategies or resources from student to student or classroom to classroom. The only parts of instruction that must be in common are the standards and the use of best practices in early childhood education.
K-3
The expectation of Rochester Public Schools is that all teachers teach the Minnesota Academic Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) using best practices in a literacy block and differentiating instruction to student needs.
Our expectation is that ELA instruction is comprised of whole-group lessons tied to standards, flexible small-group lessons grouped by student need and regular individual conferences.
Following best practices, we expect students to be engaged in reading connected texts and isolated skill practice throughout the literacy block. K-2 students in particular will have specific time dedicated to phonics and phonemic awareness instruction.
Teachers will have a robust instructional toolkit to address the varied needs of students in their class. It is not an expectation that all teachers use the same strategies or resources from student to student or classroom to classroom. The only parts of instruction that must be in common are the standards and around the five pillars of literacy.
Definition of Proficiency
There are multiple measures of proficiency at each grade level including prioritized learnings, Fastbridge, Heggerty, and Really Great Reading. Each of these are designed to measure students’ overall reading proficiency as it relates to the State Standards. The other literacy assessments administered provide additional information and indicate need for intervention (see Pre-K Indicators, Tier II Indicators, and Tier III Indicators).
To be proficient, below is a description of proficient by grade level
| Students: | Proficiency Level: |
|---|---|
| Early Childhood |
Teaching Strategies Gold: Progressions of development illustrate widely held expectations for various ages. These colored bands show educators and families which skills and behaviors are typical. |
| Kindergarteners |
Heggerty: Students should be at the “developing” stage
Fastbridge: Cut scores are indicated by FAST benchmarks at each level
Really Great Reading: Benchmarks by grade increase throughout the school year
|
| First Graders |
Really Great Reading: Benchmarks by grade increase throughout the school year
Heggerty: Students should be at the “developing” stage
Fastbridge: Cut scores are indicated by FAST benchmarks at each level
|
| Second Graders |
Fastbridge: Cut scores are indicated by FAST benchmarks at each level
|
| Third Graders |
Fastbridge: Cut scores are indicated by FAST benchmarks at each level
|
Assessments
| Assessments: | Time of Assessment: |
|---|---|
| Teaching Strategies Gold (Creative Curriculum) by TeachingStrategies |
Fall
Spring
|
| Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) by University of Minnesota |
Fall
Spring
|
| Fastbridge aReading Screener 2-5 CBM Reading |
Fall
Spring
|
| Heggerty Phonemic Awareness K-1 by Literacy Resources, LLC AND Really Great Reading Foundational Skills K-1 By Really Great Reading |
Fall
Winter
Spring
|
| Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA)2-5 by American ReadingCompany |
Ongoning |
Assessment Plans by Grade Level
Pre-K
Kindergarten
| Assessments: | Time of Assessment: |
|---|---|
|
Heggerty including Concepts of Print and Letter Sound Identification
(phonemic awareness)
|
Fall: all students (ongoing)
Winter: all students (ongoing)
Spring: all students (ongoing)
|
|
Really Great Reading
(phonics)
|
Fall: N/A
Winter: all students (ongoing)
Spring: all students (ongoing)
|
| Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) |
Fall: optional for progress monitoring
Winter: optional for progress monitoring
Spring: optional for progress monitoring
|
First Grade
| Assessments: | Time of Assessment: |
|---|---|
|
Heggerty
(phonemic awareness)
|
Fall: all students (ongoing)
Winter: all students (ongoing)
Spring: all students (ongoing)
|
|
Really Great Reading Foundational Skills
(phonics)
|
Fall: all students
Winter: all students
Spring: all students
|
| Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) |
Fall: optional for progress monitoring
Winter: optional for progress monitoring
Spring: optional for progress monitoring
|
Second Grade
Third Grade
Parent Notification and Involvement
Notification
- Report cards (trimester)
- Parent-teacher conferences (twice/year)
- Skyward (online grading/portfolio system) parent access
- Open house/family nights
- Pre-K parent education opportunities
- Step into Learning Days
Involvement
- Family home reading routine (30 minutes/day)
- Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA)
Interventions and Instructional Supports: Multi-Tiered System of Supports
| Tier 1 |
High-quality instruction for ALL students within a literacy block
•Brief whole-group instruction on grade-level standards
•Flexible small-group instruction based on reading needs
•Regular individual conferences
•Independent practice: reading, writing, and word work
|
|---|---|
| Tier 2 |
Small-group lesson or individual conference in addition to Tier I instruction
|
| Tier 3 |
Small-group lesson or individual conference in addition to Tier I instruction
|
Dyslexia and Convergence Insufficiency Disorder
Beginning in the 2020-2022 school years Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade teachers will take part in a year long literacy partnership to dig deep into the Science of Reading and the 5 Pillars of Literacy. Teachers will meet monthly to learn to design their instruction around the findings of the National Reading Panel.The NRP findings make it clear that instruction should incorporate: explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, systematic phonics instruction, methods to improve fluency, effective vocabulary instruction around words meaning and a focus on enhancing comprehension. Heggerty and Really Great Reading will provide teachers with tools and assessments to guide their instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics. The assessment tools given three times a year will give valuable information to our students, teachers and parents around the core areas of dyslexia. Additionally, RPS will be using the universal screener Fastbridge assessment. It is the goal of RPS that we continue this literacy partnership going forward when we will add in third through fifth grade teachers.
Indicators
Professional Development for Teachers
- Literacy Partnership
- Monthly professional development and coaching around the 5 Pillars of Literacy and the Science of Reading; includes K-2 teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists, EL teachers, instructional coaches and administration
- Literacy Coaches and Instructional Coaches
- Ongoing coaching support for teachers with implementation of best practices in the science of reading, instructional strategies, assessment tools and data analysis
- Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
- Ongoing, job-embedded professional development supported by the Data Driven Dialogue process
- ELA PD Sessions
- Offered by Curriculum & Instruction Team
- Offered by Curriculum & Instruction Team
Program Contacts:
Peter Dodds
POSA Elementary Curriculum, Instructional Coaches, and PD
(507) 328-4302| Email