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?: 1
● How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS?: 6
● How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year (or have not yet started or completed Volume 1)?: 9
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 Charles Pinckney Elementary, a grades 3-5 elementary school, our reading instruction and assessments for all 3-5 students include oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to aid in the comprehension of texts to meet grade‑level English/Language Arts standards. Teachers use the South Carolina College and Career Ready ELA Standards when planning instruction. Teachers use the state adopted ELA curriculum, CKLA Amplify, a Science of Reading aligned curriculum. CKLA instruction in 3rd-5th grade includes components of Speaking and Listening, Reading, Writing, and Language all based on the science of reading. Each lesson incorporates oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Charles Pinckney Elementary administers both formative and summative assessments in order to collect data on all ELA domains. All grades 3-5 students take the iReady Diagnostic three times a year to gather benchmark data and measure growth in phonological awareness, phonics, high-frequency words, vocabulary, comprehension of literature, and comprehension of informational text. Students work on lessons on an individualized iReady path to get personalized instruction in each domain. These lessons are correlated to the South Carolina College and Career Ready ELA Standards. Students in grades 3-5 are given the CKLA Amplify beginning-of-year assessments. Students are tested in comprehension, word recognition, and fluency. Teachers use this data to guide targeted instruction in the classroom. Students will take the CKLA Amplify end-of-year assessments, and this data will be analyzed for student growth within these domains. Additionally, our grades 3-5 teachers administer CKLA end-of-unit assessments to analyze student performance and growth and use this data to plan for remediation and extension activities. At the end of each school year, all 3-5 students take the SCReady reading and writing summative assessments. This assesses student performance on all grade-level South Carolina College and Career Ready ELA Standards.
Teachers, the instructional coach, and members of administration meet during weekly Data Driven Instruction based PLCs to unpack standards, review data from formative and summative assessments, and discuss how to use this data to inform future instruction.
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 teachers in grades 3-5 at Charles Pinckney Elementary use the South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards when planning instruction, which includes Word Recognition in the Foundations of Literacy domain. Teachers in grades 3-5 create ELA focus walls that incorporate morphology being studied in the CKLA Amplify curriculum. Assessments in spelling and morphology are also embedded in CKLA lessons. Word Recognition is a domain assessed in the CKLA Amplify beginning-of-year and end-of-year assessments. It is also assessed as part of the high frequency domain of the iReady Diagnostic administered in fall, winter, and spring.
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 Charles Pinckney Elementary, students who are performing below grade-level proficiency on the Fall iReady Reading Diagnostic are given the FastBridge CBM screener and FastBridge CBM progress monitoring assessments to assess and monitor fluency and comprehension. Students are also given CKLA Amplify beginning-of-year assessments to assess word recognition and comprehension. As a team, we analyze these data points to identify students who need additional support through our literacy intervention program and/or through targeted instruction within the classroom.
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.
It is a priority at Charles Pinckney Elementary to provide parents an understanding of how they can support their child as a reader and writer at home. In the first quarter of the year, parents are invited to attend a family data conference with their child’s teacher. At this conference, teachers review assessment data from SCReady and iReady, as well as discuss student strengths and opportunities for growth in regards to reading and writing based on this students data. Families are provided with a copy of the iReady Family Report which gives parents scores as well as suggestion on how to help their child at home in each reading and writing domain: phonological awareness, phonics, high-frequency words, vocabulary, comprehension of literature, and comprehension of informational text. Additionally, parents attend IPS, 504, and IEP meetings, where specific literacy supports are discussed and resources are provided for home support. Teachers send home a weekly newsletter that provides families an overview of the reading and writing skills that will be focused on each week as well as a weekly folder with graded papers and other school and classroom communication. Teachers also send home the CKLA Amplify Caregiver Letters which give detail about classroom reading and writing instruction and give parents suggestions on how they 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.
Teachers and Administrators work together in PLC and MTSS teams to collect and analyze data to make instructional decisions and action plans for groups of students and individual students. Assessments include screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring to identify students’ instructional needs. Teachers consistently monitor student achievement and growth data from personalized iReady lessons to help make instructional decisions. Teachers work together in teams to collect and analyze data to make instructional decisions for groups of students and individual students.
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.
Teachers at Charles Pinckney Elementary participate in Science of Reading based professional development through the LETRS course. Teachers participate in weekly Professional Learning Communities where they receive professional development, review data, make instructional decisions, and collaborate with and learn from colleagues. Teachers receive specific feedback from classroom walkthroughs and participate in instructional learning walks and peer observations. Teachers work through goal based coaching cycles with the instructional coach to refine and grow in specific areas of curriculum and instruction. Teachers, the instructional coach, and members of administration meet during weekly Data Driven Instruction based PLCs to unpack standards, review data from formative and summative assessments, and discuss how to use this data to inform future instruction.
Section G: Analysis of Data
Strengths
● Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) that provide teachers the opportunity to meet weekly with their team for data analysis, targeted professional development, collaboration and planning, as well as meeting for monthly ½ days for extended PLCs
● Literacy Partnerships within the school (collaboration with media specialist and volunteers) and with various organizations outside of the school
● Literacy rich classroom environments that include access to classroom libraries, organized and accessible texts and reading/writing materials, and instruction that provides authentic learning experiences around literacy
Possibilities for Growth
● Opportunities for teachers to familiarize themselves with the new ELA standards being implemented in the 2024/2025 school year
● New curriculum (CKLA) used for the 2024-25 school year.
● Ensuring that targeted teachers are LETRS trained
● Focus on Inquiry Standards across all curriculum areas
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 6.3% to 6.0 % in the spring of 2024.
Progress
In 2024, 6.8% of 3rd graders scored Does Not Meet as determined by SCREADY. While we did not meet our goal, we showed huge growth in our students according to iReady. In Fall of 2023, our projected Does Not Meet on SCREADY was 15.6%.
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): Maintain or reduce the percentage of third graders scoring Does Not Meet in the spring of 2025 as determined by SC READY from 6.8% in 2024.
Progress
● Develop strategic literacy intervention schedule to serve identified students based on data from iReady and FastBridge assessments
● Create a master schedule that creates specific times for targeted small groups within the classroom
● Implement targeted small groups within the classroom using data from student work and assessments to drive the targeted instruction