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Read to Succeed Reading Plan

Directions:  Please provide a narrative response for Sections A-I.

LETRS Questions:

  • How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volume 1 ONLY of LETRS?: 0
  • How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS?: 7
  • How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year (or have not yet started or completed Volume 1)?: 10

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.

At Sullivan’s Island Elementary, our approach to assessing and supporting student’s ELA needs is comprehensive and data-driven. In grades CD through 5th grade, we utilize a variety of formative and summative assessment tools to ensure that every student receives targeted instruction. Teachers collaboratively analyze data from the assessments in PLCs to guide instruction effectively. This process allows us to adjust teaching strategies based on student performance and monitor progress throughout the Units. All students receive core instruction using the CKLA curriculum, which emphasizes oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, word recognition, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary development. In grades K-2, phonological awareness is taught using Heggerty and phonics instruction is taught using UFLI.

Assessments (CD-5th):

  • iReady: Administered three times a year for all K-5 students, this assessment measures key ELA skills including phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension.
  • Fastbridge: For Kindergarten and 1st grade, we conduct a 1:1 Dyslexia screener three times a year, focusing on oral language, phonological awareness, and phonics.
  • myIGDIS: In PreK, we use this 1:1 assessment three times annually to evaluate oral language, phonological awareness, and vocabulary growth.
  • Curriculum Assessments: The CKLA program provides Unit assessments to help teachers analyze student performance and growth.

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.

At Sullivan’s Island Elementary, our Word Recognition instruction emphasizes foundational skills in phonological awareness and phonics decoding to support early literacy development. Our methods are grounded in the Science of Reading research, prioritizing the development of essential skills that support both reading and writing.

Instructional Practices in Grades CD-2:

  • Phonological Awareness: All CD through 1st grade classrooms implement daily lessons using Heggerty’s program, ensuring that students develop critical phonological skills.
  • Phonics Instruction: In the majority of our Kindergarten through 2nd grade classrooms, we utilize the UFLI program, which focuses on phonics, decoding, and encoding. This instruction is supplemented by the CKLA Skills program to provide a comprehensive approach to foundational reading skills.

Instructional Practices in Grades 3rd-5th:

For the classrooms in 3rd-5th grades, teachers use our structured literacy curriculum, CKLA, with a particular emphasis on morphology to enhance Word Recognition skills. This approach helps students understand word structures and meanings, facilitating more advanced literacy development.

Word Recognition Assessments:

Word Recognition assessments are incorporated into weekly lessons in our Kindergarten through 2nd grade classrooms, allowing teachers to monitor student progress and adjust instruction as needed. In our third through fifth grade classrooms, CKLA unit and mid-unit assessments are utilized to provide teachers formative assessments in order to plan future instruction. School-wide, using word recognition assessments at reporting periods is an area that we continue to grow in. A goal is to obtain more consistency in using these types of assessments on a more frequent basis.

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.

At Sullivan's Island Elementary, we use a systematic approach to identify and support students who are performing below grade level through a combination of universal screening and diagnostic assessments.

Assessments Used in Intervention:

  • Universal Screener: We use Fastbridge data to identify students in need of additional support.
  • Diagnostic Assessments: iReady individualized reports and CORE Phonics Surveys provide detailed insights into individual student needs.

Based on assessment data, students are placed into intervention groups using programs like iReady Magnetic Reading or Spire, which is tailored to the needs of the groups and individual students. We monitor intervention progress monthly, allowing for adjustments in placements and strategies to ensure continued support. Through this comprehensive approach, we aim to provide targeted, effective interventions that help all students improve their reading proficiency and achieve grade-level standards

Targeted Tier 2 Interventions:

By analyzing iReady’s instructional groupings report as well as individual student reports, we can determine the specific interventions that need to be in place for students in need of additional support. These reports ensure that students are matched to the most effective targeted scaffolds and interventions within the whole and small group lessons.

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.

At Sullivan’s Island Elementary, we prioritize strong communication with families to foster a supportive learning environment for our students and ensure that they continue to make growth. Some of the systems that we have in place are weekly communication, yearly data conferences, opportunities for parent engagement, and online resources accessible through our school website. Through these efforts, we build strong partnerships with families that equip them with the tools, resources, and information needed to support their children's literacy development.

Weekly Communication:

  • Newsletters and Communication Folders: Teachers send out weekly newsletters that outline classroom expectations and student progress, ensuring families are informed and engaged.

Data Conferences:

We hold individual data conferences with each family to discuss their child's performance and provide tailored support strategies for learning at home. This collaborative approach empowers parents to be active participants in their child’s education.

Parent Engagement:

Each month, parents are invited to Principal Coffee Chats with topics such as MTSS, Safety, unpacking iReady reports, Science Instruction, and Curriculum topics. During these sessions parents are also encouraged to bring their own questions to the table so that those are clearly communicated, as well.

In addition, annually an SIC survey is created by our school improvement council to provide families an outlet for feedback on our academic programs and our social emotional learning. Lastly, this year we have begun to provide Curriculum Help Sessions led by our instructional coach and parent educator. The purpose of these sessions is to engage the parents in how standards have shifted, why they have shifted, and how the new curriculum addresses these changes. The families watch videos of classrooms in action to make sense of how the students are engaged in the new curriculum.

Online Resources:

Our Parent Educator in collaboration with the School’s Instructional Coach, have created a Curriculum Dashboard on our school’s website. This platform offers parents resources related to our newly adopted ELA curriculum and additional supports for students who may not yet be reading at grade level.

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.

Teachers and administrators collaborate weekly in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) teams. Together, they collect and analyze data to inform instructional decisions and create action plans tailored to both groups and individual students. Through this comprehensive monitoring and support system, we aim to foster continuous growth in reading achievement for all students at Sullivan’s Island Elementary.

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support:

Our MTSS team includes our principal, school psychologist, guidance counselor, resource teachers, and instructional coach. Classroom teachers and parents can also be invited to these meetings to problem solve any student who is not making their projected gains in intervention. In addition to our weekly MTSS meetings, monthly Wellness Checks are completed by the interventionists and our instructional coach to track students who are not making their growth targets in order to complete a phase change to include adjustments to instructional pacing, targeted program, or frequency of services.

PLCs:

Although grade levels meet weekly with administration to focus on instructional planning in response to the most recent data, once a month, these teams sit down together to discuss students of concern. These concerns can be academic, behavioral, or social. Students who are brought to our attention are tracked on our concerns spreadsheet from year to year to ensure that supports are in place for them to continue to grow.

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.

At Sullivan’s Island Elementary, we prioritize ongoing, job-embedded professional learning for our teachers to enhance instructional practices and support student achievement.

Weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLCs):

Teachers engage in weekly PLCs focused on Data Driven Instruction. These collaborative sessions provide opportunities for educators to analyze student data, share strategies, and plan effective lessons based on student needs.

Coaching Cycles:

Teachers receive individualized support through coaching cycles with our school coach. This hands-on approach allows for tailored feedback and guidance, enabling teachers to refine their instructional techniques.

Instructional Learning Walks:

Feedback from district and school coaches is gathered through Instructional Learning Walks. These observations help identify areas for improvement and recognize effective practices, fostering a culture of continuous growth.

Science of Reading Training:

Teachers participate in Science of Reading professional development, including the LETRS coursework. This training equips educators with the knowledge and strategies necessary to implement evidence-based reading instruction.

Classroom Observations:

Weekly observations are conducted by our principal, assistant principal, and the instructional coach. The results of the observations are shared with the observation team in order to target school-wide areas of growth, as well as individual teacher supports that are needed so that all students are growing within the curriculums.

Section G: Analysis of Data

Strengths:

  • Our student progress on SC Ready grew from “Good” in the Spring of 2023 to “Excellent” in the Spring of 2024. Specifically, our Lowest 20% progress grew from 51.5% in the Spring of 2023 to 71.4%.
  • Our classroom teachers and support staff embrace a growth mindset when new standards and new curriculum is adopted from the State Department. The are open to learning the most up-to-date research that has been conducted.
  • Our CD-2nd grade classrooms are strong in phonics instruction.

Possibilities for Growth:

  • We are working on school-wide consistency with implementing word recognition assessments frequently in order to adjust lesson targets in small group instruction and provide families with specific, standards-driven feedback regarding their child’s reading ability
  • One area of continuous growth is how to target instruction outside of the whole group lesson. We look at opportunities for flexible small groups to be embedded multiple times per week.

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).

Goal #1:

Reduce the percentage of third graders scoring Does Not Meet in the spring of 2023 as determined by SC READY from 5.8 % to 4.8 % in the spring of 2024.

Progress:

  • MTSS teams met to unpack the iReady benchmark data to project the specific students who will be targeted to not meet expectations on SC Ready Spring.
  • Interventionists progress monitored students at risk weekly to ensure they are making progress towards their reading goals.

Goal #2:

By Spring 2023, the total number of students determined to be mid to above grade level in grades 1-5 will increase from 61.3% in the Spring of 2022 to 64% in the Spring of 2023 based on the iReady reading assessment. 

Progress:

  • Professional development was conducted during extended planning sessions to focus on using the iReady standards report to include “next steps” and targeted learning paths
  • Increased parent communication around understanding the iReady report
  • PLC meetings encouraged unpacking of standards, identifying key lessons, and teacher collaboration through data driven planning
  • ELA learning walks with administration and feedback provided about lesson implementation

Goal #3:

By Spring 2023, 83.98 % of students in grades 3-5 will score Meets or Exceeds on the ELA section of the SC Ready assessment. 

Progress:

  • Built reflective practice in PLCs and using coaching cycles that targeted instructional areas of reading growth
  • Professional development was provided for teachers that included utilizing resources available in ALL Block and provided by iReady to use in targeted lessons through small groups. 
  • 12/13 K-2 classrooms participated in Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS training.

 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.

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 7.6 % to 6.6 % in the spring of 2025.

Progress:

  • MTSS teams meet to unpack the iReady benchmark data to project the specific students who will be targeted to not meet expectations on SC Ready Spring
  • Interventionists progress monitored students at risk weekly to ensure they are making progress towards their reading goals.
  • Classroom teachers meet during extended planning sessions to target students who are projected to make proficiency shifts based on iReady Projected Proficiency report.

Goal #2:

By Spring 2025, we will increase our student progress of grades 3-5 students in the Lowest 20% of our school population from 71.4% to 74%.

Progress:

  • Utilizing the Lowest 20% list of students, provided by the district, grade levels will meet to track students on that list beginning in the Fall to ensure appropriate support was provided to the students throughout the year.
  • After Winter benchmark, progress will be added to the Lowest 20% list. During winter extended planning sessions, the instructional coach will work with grade levels to make adjustments to the levels of support, as needed.

Goal #3:

By Spring 2025, the total number of students determined to be mid to above grade level in grades 1-5 will increase from 64.7% in the Spring of 2024 to 70% in the Spring of 2025 based on the iReady reading assessment. 

Progress:

  • Professional development will be conducted during extended planning sessions to focus on using the iReady standards report to include “next steps” and targeted learning paths
  • Our Parent Educator will include consistent messaging around understanding the iReady Family report
  • PLC meetings will continue to focus on  unpacking of standards, identifying key lessons, and teacher collaboration through data driven planning
  • ELA learning walks with administration and feedback provided about scheduling, pacing, and lesson implementation