Reading by Third Grade is

Way Too LatePam Betten

Director of School Improvement

March 31, 2012

DemographicsDemographicsDistrict Student Enrollment17,763

Hispanic 87.7%Anglo 5.6%Native American 4.1%

African American 2.1%

Asian/Pacific Islander 0.5%

English Language LearnersGrades K-5 42.1%Grades 6-8 23.4%Grades 9-12 16.2%K-12 31.6%

Eligible for free and reduced meals

14,434 students 83.6%

Homeless 5.8%

Graduation Rate 70%

Staff 1,128CertifiedSchool site administrators 37Central administrators 29Support staff 1,044

Challenges and BarriersChallenges and Barriers

•ELL 4 Hour Model•S.B. 1070 anti-immigration•Segregated Schools•49th out of 50th in State Funding•Dropout Factory image• Low literacy rates•No sense of urgency

Literacy Counts“Adolescents entering the adult world of the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens and conduct their personal lives.” Richard Vacca

Reading By 3rd Grade Matters

4X 88% 89%Students who cannot read by the end of the 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school

Eighty-eight percent of students who failed to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers in 3rd grade

Eighty-nine percent of low-income students who achieved proficient reading skills by the3rd grade graduated.

Rising Literacy Demands• 25 fastest growing professions

have far greater than average literacy demands

• 25 fastest declining professions have lower than average literacy demands

• Approximately 70% of new jobs will require post secondary education

Key Advances in new 2010 ELA Standards

Reading• Balance of literature and informational

texts• Text complexity, depth of knowledgeWriting• Emphasis on argument and

informative/explanatory writing• Writing about sourcesSpeaking and Listening• Inclusion of formal and informal talk• Focus on student presentationsLanguage• Stress on general academic and

domain-specific vocabulary

A.R.S. 15-704 Reading Delivery System

Presently being implemented by LEAs in K-3 programs:• Select and administer screening,

ongoing diagnostic and classroom based reading assessments

• Evaluate and adopt a scientifically based reading curriculum that include essential components

• Devote reasonable amount of time to explicit instruction and independent reading

• Provide intensive reading instruction of 3rd grade students who do not meet or exceed the standards

Comprehensive Assessment System

• Monitor student progress to inform instruction• Use data to make decisions• Use of assessments:• Outcome

• Universal screening

• Diagnostic

• Progress Monitoring

A.R.S. 15-701 Move On When Reading

• A student shall not be promoted from the third grade if the student obtains a score on the AIMS reading test that demonstrates he or she is reading far below the third grade level

• Takes effect in the School year 2013-14

• Will impact this year’s 1st graders

Intervention

• Children who are having difficulty learning to read do not, as a rule, need completely different instruction

• The differences are primarily in intensity, quantity, and the maintenance of high quality literacy interactions.

Instructional Elements

Effective early interventions provide 4 essential instructional elements:

• Alphabetic principle

• Guided and independent reading of progressively more difficult texts

• Engaging students in practicing comprehension strategies while reading text

• Writing exercises

Critical Components for Remediation Plan• Comprehensive assessments• Evidence based instructional

materials• Explicit, systematic instruction• Data driven

instructional/intervention model• TIME• Exit plan

Time Allocations for the Remediation Year

Tier 1 – grade level core• 90 minutes per day uninterrupted

instruction• ANDTier 2 – targeted intervention• 45-50 minutes per day• ORTier 3 – intensive intervention• 60-75 minutes per day

Total Time90 + 45/50 = 135/140 minutes/day

(Tier 1 & 2)90 +60/75 = 150/165 minutes/day

(Tier 1 & 3)

Sunnyside’s Literacy Initiative

Walk-to-Read

Sunnyside’s Literacy Initiative

Walk-to-Read K-5• Students are grouped by reading and

language proficiency to accommodate ELD needs.• 90 to 120 minute block of reading

instruction• Based on NRP Big 5:

phonetic awarenessphonicsvocabularycomprehensionfluency

Walk-to-Read in Middle School• Students are grouped by reading proficiency• ELD students grouped separately by

language proficiency according to AZELLA• Homogeneous grouping allows for focused

instruction

Literacy Interventions

Sunnyside’s Literacy Initiative

Interventions K-5•Mind Play, reading Plus, Lexia, DynEd (Technology)•SFA, Read Well, REACH, Voyager

Interventions Middle and High School•Reading Plus, DynEd, Read 180, System 44• Inside (MS), Edge (HS)

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Cohn

$25,000 Kindle Literacy Program