• Local Literacy Plan for Grades K-3 at Pioneer Elementary, ISD 484 GOAL:

    With highly trained, professionally motivated teachers/staff and engagement with families, we will ensure all students are reading well by 3rd grade, by using research based literacy practices, aligned curriculum, evidence-based instruction and data-driven decision making, along with systems of support for students in multi-level instruction that differentiates and accelerates the learning of all students.

    Informing & Involving Parents:

    Twice a year, at Parent-Teacher Conferences, parents are provided with the results of their children’s assessments. Teachers and parents of struggling readers employ a variety of means to communicate, including newsletters, emails, internet apps, and phone calls to explore ways of supporting and accelerating reading growth. We also offer Kindergarten round-up, summer reading program, summer school, as well as some programs outside of the school day to promote reading including Targeted Services and BartonTutoring. An assessment schedule is included in the student handbook or on the school’s website.

    Core Literacy Program:

    The research based and aligned curriculum used in our school is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Journeys Reading. This series provides effective core literacy instruction for our K-6 students and also provides opportunities for differentiated instruction within the core. This core curriculum is supported by research based reading interventions at all grade levels targeting the diversity and specific literacy needs of all students.  Along with Journeys, we address phonemic awareness needs through the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness curriculum for whole group instruction in all K-3 classrooms and Kilpatrick in small group instruction.  We implemented the Spire phonics curriculum in all K-3 classrooms which is based on the Science of Reading.  Assessments are used to make data driven decisions about flexible groups within the core and interventions.

    Assessments:

    The assessment tools used at Pioneer Elementary are FAST, Spire Phonics Survey, and Kilpatrick PAST assessment in K-4, and STAR in 4-6. The following assessments are given to all students at these times throughout the year.

    KINDERGARTEN:

    September:

    Letter Sounds

    January:

    Letter Sounds, Nonsense Words

    May:

    Letter Sounds, Nonsense Words, Sentence Reading

     

    GRADE ONE:

    September:

    Nonsense Words, Sentence Reading, PAST, SPIRE Phonics Assessment

     

    January:

    Nonsense Words, Oral Reading Fluency

    May:

    Oral Reading Fluency, PAST, SPIRE Phonics Assessment

    GRADE TWO:

    September:

    Oral Reading Fluency, PAST, SPIRE Phonics Assessment

     

    January:

    Oral Reading Fluency

    May:

    Oral Reading Fluency, PAST, SPIRE Phonics Assessment

    GRADE THREE:

    September:

    Oral Reading Fluency, PAST, SPIRE Phonics Assessment

     

    January:

    Oral Reading Fluency

     

    May:

    Oral Reading Fluency, PAST, SPIRE Phonics Assessment

    Interventions:

    Any K-3 student identified through the district system of assessments, observations, classroom performance, and classroom formative assessments, as performing below grade level will be provided intervention either in the classroom or in small group pull-out services. Intervention will be provided in the area of identified need for the purpose of accelerating student growth in order to reach the goal of reading at or above grade level by the end of the current grade and school year. Some of the following interventions will be available to students not reading at or above grade level:·

    The core instruction allows for differentiated instruction to meet student needs:

    Flexible small groups based on skill levels and needs, Phonemic Awareness with Heggerty and Kilpatrick programs, Phonics with the Spire program

    Supplemental reading interventions may be offered during the school day in targeted interventions:

    Phonemic Awareness interventions with Kilpatrick, Phonics interventions with Spire, Fluency interventions with Read Naturally Live as well as repeated readings using decodable texts.

    A summer reading program may be used with a small number of students including students with diverse needs.

    Mn Reading Corp

    Professional Development

    Each year the district establishes a plan for staff development in the area of reading for the purpose of improving teacher knowledge and skills in delivering high quality expert literacy instruction. Teachers and specialists will participate in a variety of professional development experiences focused on scientifically based reading instruction and serving diverse needs of students. This year we have staff participating in LETRS training.

    Monthly PLC meetings to review assessments with a focus on differentiating instruction for the diverse needs of students.

     

    Monthly PLC meetings to review, share and train in research based intervention strategies to meet the diverse needs of students.

    Staff book clubs and learning communities to explore research based intervention strategies and research based literacy practices and instruction.

    Annual peer observations are routinely conducted by all teachers with written reflections of the impacts of the observations on their own instructional practices.