Literacy: A Bridge to Student Success by Ellis, Karen R

Common literacy expectations in all

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classrooms and content areas

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Implementing consistent writing practices across all grade levels.

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Common language across all content PLCs

Expectations/prior knowledge

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Ensuring secondary teachers (all content) are aware of how literacy instruction happens in K-8

Action Step

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Build common language around literacy vertical spine, including with specialists

Small Steps

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Creating realistic opportunities for students to see words and phrases (possibly phonetically) around the school for students to see and read.

Gaps

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HS receives students that reflect all levels of literacy skills, however HS faculty are the least equipped to develop literacy skills.

Pre-K

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Include Pre-K into PLCs to have common language and vertical ideas.

Gaps

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Clear vertical alignment between 9-12 grade literacy instruction.
Utilizing the language of the GCS Literacy priorities in our feedback and school literacy goals...looking for analysis and synthesis across all subject areas.
Remaining rooted in the principles of reading.

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Gaps can be within teaching experiences, knowledge of standards and verbiage from coaches.

We considered model classrooms for literacy.

Grade level models

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Finding teachers on each grade level that are doing certain aspects of instruction extremely well and having other teachers get into their classroom to see what it looks like. This will reiterate for teachers what they are doing well and what they need to level up.

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Create times for teachers at different schools to collaborate how the same curriculum pieces look different from school to school.

No time in schedule for middle school students to learn basic skills unless in an EC resource class

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Opportunities

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Finding common language across the curriculums/content areas/grade spans so we can target/describe high-quality literacy instruction.

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Staff training in literacy across all levels

Writing Integration

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Writing seamlessly integrated into literacy block to concretize the literacy priorities. Direct scaffolded supports to bridge the gap between K-2 and 3-8 literacy priorities.

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Students attending High School — Reading on an Elementary Level

Students are unable to comprehend the reading due lack of reading proficiency

Students starting Elementary school without Sight words - Already behind

Teachers at High School and Muddle School do not have the skills to teach a child how to read

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Prioritize teacher knowledge of best instructional practices for literacy rather than program fidelity

Gaps

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Not understanding the science of reading

Departmentalized instead of true, whole school

True accountability

ACTION STEPS

Selecting 1-3 literacy strategies to use school wide

Move beyond isolation

Vertical Team Opportunities

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More opportunities need to be in place to discuss and engage.

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Share the information with teachers. This incłudes the current handouts. Expand on the information with staff membrrs so they understand the plan.

We all teach reading

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Literacy instruction and development for all teachers, of all subjects, so that reading instruction lives in all classrooms K-12, across all departments.

All Star Team

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Alignment of curriculum from elementary to middle

Gaps for Middle School

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When students make it to middle school and are still reading on a first grade level, how to support them in an effective way.

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Gap: Having educators trained in teaching literacy across all content areas

Opportunities: Continual Training for all teachers .

Strengths: Instructional coaches that can support teachers.

Middle grade

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Encore reading day each week

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Enhanced small group instruction at all grades

Parent and Family Engagement

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How can we have district level support to assist with communicate the initiatives for parents

Planning/Execution Instruction

nsleslie — 2025-06-23 18:30:14 UTC

In elementary: Support for elementary teachers on how to customize lessons to release the heavy lifting to students. How to curate lessons to persevere and "do the work". Our 3-5 teachers do alot of the talking/more of the work but they do not know how to set up/curate lessons to set students up for success during independent practice.

High School

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PD for teachers to learn how to differentiate with students at a variety of reading levels in one class

Teacher Training

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We've got to continue coaching our teachers so they understand what it looks like. We must keep it going with them. It can't be one and done.

Strength

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Middle school teachers with K-6 licenses/foundational backgrounds

ELA, Science and SS teachers are traditionally licensed

Good timing with the new model because it’s the merging of two schools

Literacy coaches

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Literally having someone in the building who has the background in this type of position… which we will now have!!!

Professional Development

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Teachers across all disciplines receiving training on ELA look fors for grade levels.

Back to School

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Share this process and expectations with staff at district trainings in August so they understand it’s a district wide initiative.

Maintain consistency.

Having reading data available to all staff.

Consistency in small group instruction and interventions at all grade levels

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Sharing resources and strategies with parents

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Gaps

burneta32 — 2025-06-23 18:32:27 UTC

Creating structures for secondary schools, specifically with 9-12, to have protected time to build upon teachers' capacity to mindfully and strategically incorporate literacy skills in all content areas; critical application.

Gaps

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We must focus on the data that is specific enough to know where reading frustration levels are! We then must provide interventions to help improve reading outcomes through all courses and grade levels.

It is imperative that we know the science behind reading and the application of interventions to aid in removing the gap and not appeasing the gap. Literacy needs to be daily.

3-8 Literacy Vertical Spine

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The words "Persevere" and "Do the Work" do not feel empowering for students at that grade span. I wonder if we could adjust this language to be more motivating. One example could be to move "Read to learn" to the 3-8 span and keep "Read to lead" in the 9-12 span. Persevere and Do the work sound like "because I said so" statements. Also, the graphics for 3-8 do not communicate as clearly the objectives as the Prek-2 graphics.

Principal support

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Build capacity of principals and assistant principals so they know what they are looking for and ensure they are looking for the right things and holding their staff accountable. Ensure principals know all they need to know "look fors" to monitor instruction.

Opportunities

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EC Department

capacity of team members
Structures of resource vs inclusion models to prepare for high school
Increase parent understanding of middle school structures and the impact on the EC student

Vertical Alignment

intentional planning

Shared ownership/increased collaboration

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Create common times for support personnel to meet and collaborate in PLCs (EC, AG, ESL, etc)

Incorporate more literacy goals into specials and throughout the school

Allow more writing time in grades 3-5

Gaps

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Provide additional guidance during intervention and enrichment periods to ensure teachers are equipped to support students. This includes all content teachers and encore/specialists. *Accountability measures to ensure we are getting the desired outcomes

Consistent walkthrough and feedback cycles

High School Gaps

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professional learning for teachers who only know how to teach the concepts of the Reading Rope in isolation or not at all
exemplars of lessons aligned to the vertical spine & reading rope
Non-ELA teachers expecting students to know words and how to decode, and not knowing how to teach the skills

Role of Videos

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Create videos of do's and don'ts capturing master teachers so everyone can see what it looks like in the classroom and it can serve as a model for principals to know what they should be seeing. Novice teachers would be able to see what high-quality and joyful learning looks like.

A Bridge to Student Success

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-Understanding how to differentiate amongst the visuals. It doesn’t mean that you live in one area based on the grade levels but the needs of scholars.

-Assessment data to show where scholars are and what they need.

-Wherever you are as a leader or teacher you’re ultimately responsible for all areas of the literacy spine.

-Persevere/ Do the work: what will that mean to kids? How to get them there. Should be 3-5 instead of 3-8.

Onboarding

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We need to ensure that we train new teachers in our priorities.

Campaign Opportunities

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canvas pages
BOY newsletters to parents
Reminders in connect-eds
Leadership team rollout
BOY meetings with staff
Posters/visuals in classrooms

building a reading culture

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how are we developing reading cultures at our school -- beanstack? book clubs? reading incentives? can faculty and staff model reading for pleasure and the value of reading as an adult?

Bridge To Student Success

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Recommendations: Coaching teachers/feedback

Action Steps: 1. Conversations with feeder schools/vertical conversations 2. Actual strategies for each grade strand

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Making sure all K-5 teachers take ownership of the work.

Professional Learning

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More professional learning for 9-12 teachers to help students be successful because by the time students get to high school, they’re reading abilities/levels are all over the place.

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Persevere/ Do the work: needs more specifics.

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Build upon the priorities without neglecting any parts— emphasis on the writing.

All staff trained from k-12, at ALL schools.

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Gap: Students that don’t go to PreK for sounds, letters, words

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Create a school culture that encourages and embodies whole school literacy across all classrooms.

Differentiation for students who are below grade level.

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School Readiness

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Ensuring pre-k families who are not in a GCS pre-k classroom also know the literacy priorities. Offer family education classes to explain it and provide useful tools for families to implement.

Opportunities

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Common language that is continuous vertically and across the county.

We feel as if the curriculum (My Perspective) is designed to cover up gaps that students have. It also takes the creativity or critical thinking away from students by giving a prescriptive plan or study.

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Alignment

mckenzj2_1 — 2025-06-23 20:01:04 UTC

Add literacy implementation standards, language comprehension, and word recognition to all district content area support documents.

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System alignment requires students to learn the things they are supposed to at each level.

PreK Gap not all kids go to PreK. Some many Kinder kids are in the PreK stage throughout their kinder experience.

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Sharing reading data with all teachers for a clear understanding of where students are in their literacy to begin the work

Parent communication

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These priorities are developed and captured in such a way that they can be easily shared and understood by families. Families can support literacy at home if they are empowered and understand the goals of each span.

9-12 Concerns

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What interventions already exist to support high school students who need Sounds/Letters/Words when there is no time in the schedule and adults aren’t trained.

LETRS application

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Ensure all teachers who have completed LETRS (Early Childhood and Volumes 1/2) know how to translate their learning into the classroom. Offer LETRS booster PD to remind them how to transfer their learning into practice.

Common Literacy

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Ensure all teachers are building upon the foundations of literacy in their content areas to promote school wide literacy.

Telling the GCS Story

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This framework gives us a way to think about telling stories for families and the community about what they should expect, what learning looks like. Comms has had a hard time getting direction to find teachers who Academics wishes to highlight. We would love to be more strategic with this. I would love to see a future where families knew the priorities for their own child’s grade level.

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Introduce school-wide vocabulary all year so that students can see it in multiple content areas

Opportunity

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Create a screener and/or an interview protocol aligned with literary priorities. Create videos for marketing the district that focuses on literacy. Create professional development for new/beginning teachers differentiated for these groups.

Alignment

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Provide specific literacy training to Specialists to facilitate practices that reflect literacy instruction demonstrated in the classroom

GCS Literacy

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Align the work school-wide to support specialists with literacy instruction.

Alignment

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Vertical conversations across K-5, so teachers can see, hear, understand, and plan for the progression of reading skills/standards; utilize common language so students hear the same thing from grade to grade.

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To address gaps we need to do a better job with professional development to support secondary teachers to support students with gaps.

Continue to track student literacy foundational skills

Writing

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Placing more emphasis on the writing.

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Incorporate the Science of Learning into literacy instruction.

Literacy Coaches

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Utilizing coaches to support teachers to maximize literacy goals and focus.

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With access to reading levels and scores, EVERY teacher, no matter what they teach, should know the reading level where their students are working, BEFORE they enter the classroom

Vertical Alignment Discussion/Materials

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Grade levels will meet to discuss a standard and how it is taught in their grade. From there, anchor charts can be created to show progression from year to year. (For example: How is R.L. asked/taught/strategy used in kinder vs how it is asked/taught/strategy used in 1st, 2nd, 3rd 4th and 5th). These anchor charts can be shared on the school website or teacher websites. This gets common language for the school.

Improve student mindset

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Celebrate progress towards literacy goals and reading to learn and lead in an effort to ensure that students see their potential and are thus, able to demonstrate consistent growth and achievement in post secondary opportunities.

Grade level vertical alignment and see how it builds upon each other and speak the same language.

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3-8 Priorities

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Description of this at work, training to support.