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Read to Succeed Reading Plan

 

South Carolina Department of Education 

Read to Succeed Elementary Exemplary Literacy Reflection Tool

St. Andrew’s School of Math and Science, 2024-2025 School Year 

 

LETRS Questions:  

• How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volume 1 ONLY of LETRS?:1 

• How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS?: 16 

• How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year (or have not yet started or completed Volume 1)?:20 

Section A: Describe how reading assessment and instruction for all PreK-5th grade students in the school includes oral language, phonological  awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to aid in the comprehension of texts to meet grade‑level English/Language Arts  standards. 

Our school implements Amplify CKLA as the ELA curriculum for all Kindergarten through 5th grade students. Amplify CKLA is a research-based  curriculum that aligns to the Science of Reading. 120 minutes of daily ELA instruction in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade classrooms are divided into two parts: 60 minutes of reading and writing instruction, focusing on the Applications of Reading and Communication standards, and 60  minutes of foundations of reading standards instruction. Additionally, PreK-2nd grade students receive 10-15 minutes of daily phonological  awareness instruction, using the Heggerty curriculum. 120 minutes of daily ELA instruction in 3rd-5th grades uses an approach blending Applications  of Reading, Communication, and Research standards. Assessments embedded in Amplify CKLA yield information regarding students’ mastery of  oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. 

Students in Kindergarten - 5th grade take the i-Ready diagnostic assessment three times per year; these assessments provide detailed school, class,  and student data regarding performance in growth in the domains of phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension of literary texts,  and comprehension of informational texts. Based on their diagnostic performance, students participate in an individualized learning pathway that is  tailored to their specific needs; teachers actively monitor time on task and lesson pass rates in order to tweak individualized instruction via i-Ready. 

 

 

Section B: Document how Word Recognition assessment and instruction for PreK-5th grade students are further aligned to the science of reading,  structured literacy and foundational literacy skills. 

All Kindergarten and 2nd grade teachers and two out of six 1st grade teachers implement Amplify CKLA Foundational Skills; four out of six 1st grade  teachers implement the Orton-Gillingham classroom curriculum. Both curricula include encoding and decoding word assessments to determine entry  levels for each student in the areas of word recognition and phonics patterns. All 3rd-5th grade teachers implement Amplify CKLA, which includes  whole-class instruction on phonics, morphology, and vocabulary. Classroom teachers provide on-grade level whole group instruction to every student  and scaffold instruction based on the pre-assessments to fill in gaps for Tier II and Tier III intervention. Teachers are utilizing strategies from LETRS as they implement explicit phonics instruction. Teachers are unpacking standards, learning targets, and assessments to have clarity of what they are  teaching and mastery of standards. 

 

 

Section C: Document how the school uses universal screener data and diagnostic assessment data to determine targeted pathways of intervention  (word recognition or language comprehension) for students in PreK-5th grade who have failed to demonstrate grade‑level reading proficiency.  

Students in Kindergarten - 5th grade take the i-Ready diagnostic assessment three times per year. After each diagnostic, teams review the data by  percentile, domains, and standards mastery. Students performing below the 25th percentile in grades 2-5 are given the FastBridge Oral Reading  Fluency assessment, Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST), and CORE Phonics Survey. These additional data points inform the area of  focus as we provide Tier II and Tier III intervention support. Students below the 25th percentile are progress monitored throughout the year with i Ready Diagnostics, FastBridge CBM Oral Reading Fluency, i-Ready adaptive digital instruction, and classroom data.  

All students in Kindergarten and 1st grade are also given the FastBridge Early Reading Assessment, which our district uses as the universal screener  for dyslexia. Students performing below the 25th percentile are provided Tier II or Tier III intervention support and progress monitored throughout  the year. Our pull-out intervention services implement Orton-Gillingham or SPIRE curriculum for students requiring additional phonics instruction in  grades 1-5. Students in grades 3-5 requiring additional instruction for language and reading comprehension receive i-Ready Magnetic Reading  curriculum. Students with Reading Services through their IEPs receive individualized curriculum based on needs determined by the above  assessments, as well as curricula screeners. 

Additionally, this is our third year working in collaboration with Reading Partners; they provide one on one tutoring opportunities for students who  score above the 25th percentile on universal reading assessments (i-Ready and FastBridge), but who would benefit from additional reading support.  

 

 

Section D: Describe the system in place to help parents in your school understand how they can support the student as a reader and writer at home. 

Teachers send home weekly newsletters with home to school connections for reading comprehension, phonics, and fluency reading. After each i Ready diagnostic benchmark assessment teachers provide the Family Report which reviews Next Steps opportunities for home in the areas of  phonics, high frequency words, vocabulary, and comprehension. All students’ families have a required fall conference and meet as needed  throughout the school year. Students performing below the 25th percentile in 3rd grade participate in 4 data conferences per year after each quarter.  Additionally, parents attend Individual Problem Solving (IPS), 504, and IEP meetings, as the school-based team identifies targeted literacy supports  to close learning gaps for students. At the beginning of each Amplify CKLA unit, teachers send home the Amplify CKLA Caregiver Letter, which  provides an overview of the standards and content addressed in each unit and how families can support their child at home.

 

 

Section E: Document how the school provides for the monitoring of reading achievement and growth at the classroom and school level with  decisions about PreK-5th grade intervention based on all available data to ensure grade-level proficiency in reading.  

The i-Ready Reading Diagnostic (K-5) and FastBridge Early Reading inventory (K-1) are administered to students in the fall, winter, and spring each  year. After each diagnostic, grade level and leadership teams analyze the data to identify growth trends, areas of strengths, and opportunities for  growth. Students performing below the 25th percentile in i-Ready and FastBridge are provided Tier II or III intervention, inside or outside of the  classroom setting with weekly or bi-weekly progress monitoring. Students in intervention have ambitious growth goals that are monitored via monthly Literacy Trend Check meetings, during which the literacy team and school psychologist review individual student progress monitoring data.  

K-5 Students also participate in Amplify CKLA formative assessments throughout units of study and an end of unit assessment. Beginning in the  2024-25 school year, all Grade 3-5 students will participate in quarterly SC Ready Checkpoints via Derivita, which will provide an additional data  point and inform grade-level and classroom instructional decisions.  

 

 

Section F: Describe how the school provides teacher training based in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills to  support all students in PreK-5th grade. 

The school leadership team ensures that teachers are well-prepared to provide effective literacy instruction that supports equitable access to all  students to build strong reading skills, setting them up for future academic success. Teachers are engaging in LETRS training, CKLA curriculum  training, unpacking updated 2023 ELA Standards, and are participating in teacher observations across the school to build collective efficacy and  capacity. OG Training 

 

 

Section G: Analysis of Data

Strengths: 

High degree of implementation fidelity in explicit, high-quality  research-based curriculum (Amplify CKLA, Heggerty, and  Orton-Gillingham). 

• Strategic groupings to maximize differentiated instruction in the  classroom, including an increase in push-in special education  services and enrichment for high performing students. As a  result, our pass rate for students with disabilities on SC Ready

Possibilities for Growth: 

• Improve capacity for teachers to provide Tier II instruction  and progress monitoring in the classroom setting, through  grade-level student problem-solving PLCs and individual  coaching cycles.  

• Grow implementation of Data-Driven Instruction model in  grade level PLCs, where teachers will bring a common  assessment or piece of student work and engage in data

Strengths: 

  • ELA increased from 40.7% in Spring 2023 to 45% in Spring  2024. 
  • Master schedule allows time for common planning for grade level teams, weekly grade-level PLCs, and block scheduling by  grade, so students are able to receive services without losing  whole-group core instruction time.

Possibilities for Growth: 

  • Analysis to determine progress toward standards and determine next steps in classroom instruction. 
  • Unpack revised ELA standards and align learning targets and  formative assessments.



 

Section H: Previous School Year SMART Goals and Progress Toward Those Goals 

• Please provide your school’s goals from last school year and the progress your school has made towards these goals. Utilize quantitative and  qualitative data to determine progress toward the goal (s). As a reminder, all schools serving third grade were required to use Goal #1 (below).

Goals: 

Goal #1 (Third Grade Goal): 

Reduce the percentage of third graders scoring Does Not Meet in the  Spring of 2023 as determined by SC Ready from 7.4% to 6% in the  Spring of 2024.

Progress: We did not meet this goal. The percentage of third graders scoring Does  Not Meet in the spring of 2024 as determined by SC Ready was 13.8%.  We did, however, increase our percentage of third graders scoring  Exceeds on SC Ready from 50.8% in Spring of 2023 to 58.7% in Spring  of 2024.

 

Goal #2 (Special Education Subgroup Goal): 

Increase the percentage of students in special education meeting their  stretch growth goal on i-Ready Reading from 15% in Spring of 2023 to  30% in Spring of 2024. 

Progress: We exceeded this goal, as 36% of students in special education met their  i-Ready Reading stretch growth goal in Spring of 2024. 

 

 

Section I: Current SMART Goals and Action Steps Based on Analysis of Data 

• All schools serving students in third grade MUST respond to the third-grade reading proficiency goal. Schools that do not serve third grade  students may choose a different goal. Schools may continue to use the same SMART goals from previous years or choose new goals. Goals  should be academically measurable. The Reflection Tool may be helpful in determining action steps to reach an academic goal. Schools are  strongly encouraged to incorporate goals from the strategic plan. 

 

Goals: 

Goal #1 (Third Grade Goal): Reduce the percentage of third graders  scoring Does Not Meet in the Spring of 2024 as determined by SC  Ready from 13.8% to 10% in the Spring of 2025.

 

Action Steps: 

• Utilize Adaptive Digital Content for personalized reading  instruction from i-Ready data 

• Teachers set measurable reading level goals and match  appropriate text for individual students 

• Provide intervention services to all third grade students  performing below the 25th percentile, as measured by Fall i Ready Diagnostic 

• Analyze SC Ready Checkpoint data quarterly, in order to  provide instruction directly targeted to student needs

 

Goal #2 (Special Education Subgroup Goal): Increase the percentage of students in special education meeting their  stretch growth goal on i-Ready Reading from 36% in Spring of 2024 to  42% in Spring of 2025

 

Action Steps: 

• Dedicate PLC time to analyzing student work and data using the  Data-Driven Instruction model; specifically highlight students in  special education to determine strengths and next instructional  steps 

• Employ strategic schedule for pull-out intervention, special  education, and related services, to ensure that students with IEPs  receive grade-level core content instruction 

• Continue to build capacity for resource teachers to push into  classrooms to co-teach