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Creating a
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West Virginia
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
County Action Plan
Tranformative System of Support
for Early Literacy
West Virginia Department of Education Division of Teaching and Learning
The provisions established by the refocusing of West Virginia Code §18-2E-10 have resulted in a repeal and replace of WVBE Policy 2512 (currently on public comment) to ensure county boards of education are provided a framework to support a transformative system of support for early literacy. This policy includes key national and other researched-based components of a comprehensive system to support early literacy development. The framework is inclusive of the components evidenced below:
West Virginia’s Campaign for Grade Level Reading:
A Transformative System of Support for Early Literacy
A Systemic, Comprehensive Approach Measurement and Support of Children’s Trajectory for 3rd Grade Literacy Proficiency Emphasizing high-quality school readiness efforts WV Early Learning Reporting System• Data reporting based on the formative
assessment process
• Family communication resources
• Outcome resources for data-driven decision making
• Comprehensive P-3 data profile
• 3rd grade achievement gap data analysis Promoting early childhood school attendance
Providing supports to eliminate summer learning loss
Increasing family engagement High-quality, Standards-based instruction and learning • Personalized learning
• Standards-focused instruction
• Relationship between learning and teaching Ensuring high-quality instruction and learning
WVBE Policy 2512: A Transformative System of
Support for Early Literacy
The infrastructure to develop and implement a state wide campaign to close the reading achievement gap is found in WVBE Policy 2512:
• WVBE Policy 2512: Tranformative System of Support for Early Literacy • WV Leaders of Literacy: Campaign for Grade Level Reading
School Readiness
Too many children from low-income families begin school already far behind. The research shows that these children are less likely to be read or spoken to regularly or to have access to books, literacy-rich environments, high-quality early care, and pre-k programs. As a consequence, these children may hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their middle-income peers before reaching kindergarten. Research also shows that such interactions are critical for language development, an important precursor to literacy.
61 percent of low-income children have no children’s books at home.
Poor children hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers.
A child’s vocabulary as early as age three can predict third grade reading proficiency.
The Attendance Gap
Too many children from low-income families miss too many days of school. Research has found that one in 10 kindergarten and first grade students nationwide misses nearly a month of school each year in excused and unexcused absences. By fifth grade, children with chronic absences who are from low-income families achieve lower academically.
One in ten kindergarten students miss nearly a month of school every year. In some districts it runs as high as one in three.
Kindergarteners who miss 10 percent of school days have lower academic performance when they reach first grade.
Among children from low-income families, who lack the resources to make up lost time, chronic absence in kindergarten translated into lower fifth grade achievement.
Summer Learning Loss
Too many children lose ground over the summer months. Without access to the enriching activities available to more affluent peers, research shows that children from low-income families lose as much as three months of reading comprehension skills over the summer. By the end of fifth grade, they are nearly three grade levels behind their peers.
Low-income students lose an average of more than two months in reading achievement in the summer, while their middle income peers tend to make gains in reading.
By the end of the fifth grade, disadvantaged children are nearly three grade equivalents behind their more affluent peers in reading.
Studies show 6-week summer learning programs can produce statistically significant gains in reading performance.
Family Engagement
Parents are the first teachers and most important advocates for their children. Research shows that students are most successful academically and socially when their parents are involved and engaged in their learning. Encouraging family engagement can help turn around the state’s achievement problems, starting with making significant progress against the milestone of grade-level reading by the end of third grade.
Healthy Readers
Learning begins at birth and healthy development greatly impacts children’s ability to learn. Children who are on track in their physical, social and emotional, cognitive, and verbal development are more successful learners from their earliest years, and they are more likely to become proficient readers by the end of the third grade.
State Level Outreach and
Professional Development
The WVDE works with child and family advocates to help assure a seamless system of care, services, and supports from birth through third grade. This includes policy and practice that promotes children’s optimal social, emotional, and cognitive development; improves professional development for the early childhood education workforce, and supports parents as their children’s first teacher and best advocate.
A Comprehensive Approach to Reading Success
by the End of the Third Grade
The purpose of this toolkit is to provide support that encourages and assists counties as they determine the unique strengths and challenges currently present at the local level that impact the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. This is STEP 3 in the four step process of establishing a transformative system of support for students to meet grade-level proficiency in reading by the end of third grade, targeting a comprehensive system of support for early literacy in grades kindergarten through third grade.
STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Community Engagement Take the initial steps for
ensuring the right partners are involved.
Determine your community’s unique strenghts, opportunities
and challenges
Identify what you aim to achieve and the steps
needed for success
Embed a culture of literacy in your community to help
close the literacy achievement gap Complete the County Needs Assessment Submit an Early Literacy County Plan Implement and Support
West Virginia County Action Plan
This plan should describe in great detail how the county’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading intends to make progress on school readiness, school attendance, summer learning and grade-level reading by 2020.
Guide to completion of the County Action Plan:
• Be sure to complete Step Two (County Needs Assessment) prior to completing the County Action Plan. For a list of resources to help determine potential partners who can assist with literacy development at the local level, visit: County Needs Assessment.
• While many individuals will collaborate on the development of the County Action Plan, the County Superintendent (or his/her designee) will need to assure the County Action Plan is completed prior to engaging in Step Four, Implementation of the County Action Plan.
• • One component of the County Action Plan is inclusion of the County Needs Assessment. The template for the County Needs Assessment is found at: County Needs Assessment.
• Questions regarding completion of the County Action Plan may be directed to: Charlotte Webb, [email protected].
Considerations for the County Action Plan
Plan Development ConsiderationsPlease consider these factors as the County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Team completes this Plan of Action.
• Cross-Sector Collaboration—How effective will this process be at providing elected officials and other key leaders of public, business, civic, and philanthropic organizations with a meaningful opportunity to share in the development of the plan and commit to its implementation?
• Stakeholder Engagement— How effective will this process be at providing parents and caregivers, service providers, program operators, and funders with a meaningful opportunity to share in the development of the plan and commit to its implementation?
• Community Outreach and Involvement (with special attention to diversity and inclusion)— How effective will this process be at providing the community as a whole (including English language learners and hard-to-reach families) with a meaningful opportunity to learn about the process and have their views and voices heard on the framing of the problem and the solutions proposed?
• Have you taken advantage of technical assistance provided by the WVDE Office of Early Learning for these areas of work?
• What type(s) of assistance would be most helpful going forward?
» Webinars
» Phone consultations
» Publications/resource guides
» Peer learning opportunities
» Face-to-face meetings
» Online community
• Does the plan propose:
» One or more “out-of-the-box” but replicable solutions?
» Especially energizing ideas, new formulations or more compelling re-framing? » Creative ways to align and/or integrate different programs and interventions?
» New approaches to braiding and blending resources and funding streams?
» Promising models for deploying and using technology?
The next pages will guide your team through the process of examining the extent to which components of the campaign are currently in place in the community, as well as identify areas where challenges and/or opportunities exist.
As your team works through this process, create your plan in a Word document. This document will be submitted as your application for funding of the proposed projects and initiatives.
County Plan Part One: Current Status
*All of this information can be gathered from the narratives included in the County Needs Assessment. Current Data
Provide a data-rich description of the current situation and recent trend lines for (1) school readiness, (2) grade-level reading (3rd and/or 4th grade), (3) student attendance, (4) extended learning (during/after/ summer learning opportunities), and (5) high school graduation. Where possible, please disaggregate the data to illuminate the performance of children from low-income families, including race/ethnicity and English language learners, if available, and to spot outliers, as well as trends and anomalies that could inform the thinking and work.
Current Services and Supports
Provide an overview of the range of services and supports currently focused on addressing aspects of the areas listed above. Where possible, it would be helpful to identify where key supports and services are missing and/or unavailable.
Conclusions
What conclusions have you drawn about the extent to which some, most, or all of the following contribute to the performance gaps between children from low-income families and their peers?
(Some examples of conclusions may include: too little attention; too little information about what works; insufficient coordination among the key stakeholders and actors; inadequate resources; ineffective use of available resources; insufficient access to otherwise available resources; or mismatch between the interventions and the needs.)
County Plan Part Two: Desired Goals and Impact
Identify what your county has set as ambitious but achievable goals, targets, and milestones for school years up to and including 2020. Provide a detailed vision for where your county will be for school readiness, third grade reading proficiency, student attendance, and extended learning.
As you determine your desired outcomes and impact, consider these guiding questions:
• Have we established a baseline number and percentage of low-income children who are reading at the proficient level by the end of third grade?
• Is there widespread knowledge of the problems we face related to grade-level reading proficiency in our county?
• Have we established baseline numbers and percentages of low-income children who are:
» reading at the proficient level by the end of third grade?
» ready for early learning programs as defined by the Ready, Set, Go, WV?
» chronically absent from school in kindergarten? First grade? Second grade? Third grade? (Missing 10 percent or more days per year)
» experiencing summer learning loss in reading in grades K-3rd?
» not receiving extended learning opportunities during the regular school year?
• Have we disaggregated our data by race, ethnicity, gender, and zip code and have detailed information on where the greatest needs exist? If so, what are the key findings based on this data?
• What are our current priorities in terms of targeting particular subpopulations, schools and/or neighborhoods?
• How might this plan support the School Improvement Plans for individual schools in regards to closing the reading achievement gap?
• What are our needs in regards to ongoing teacher professional learning supports to ensure high quality instruction?
County Plan Part Three: Strategy
Outline the set(s) of coordinated activities, programs, and initiatives designed to respond to each of the core challenges (readiness, attendance, summer learning loss, and grade-level reading) and indicate the extent to which the efforts focus on:
• Strengthening, expanding, scaling, and coordinating existing programs and interventions;
• Importing, replicating, and adapting promising practices and model programs from outside the county; and
• Developing and inventing new and innovative approaches.
Remember: All activities, programs, and initiatives are to be based on your county’s data collected in the Needs Assessment.
As you determine your strategy, consider these guiding questions and examples: • Which school readiness strategies will we utilize?
» Home visiting and other programs that offer messages, tools, and supports to help parents and caregivers succeed in promoting early language and literacy and healthy on-track child development
» Universal comprehensive health, social-emotional and developmental screening with appropriate
follow-up, intervention and supports
» Community-wide efforts to create language-rich and book-rich environments for children before they start school to help them build vocabulary
» Policy supports, resources, and programs to improve availability of and access to high-quality early care and learning opportunities for children across a variety of programs and settings
• Which school attendance strategies will we utilize?
» Community-wide attendance awareness campaigns to help parents understand and own the
importance of good attendance and find out about supports that address barriers to getting to school
» School-level messaging, modeling, and incentives to nurture a culture and cultivate the habits of excellent attendance
» Positive early outreach starting at the beginning of the school year to prevent chronic absence » Cross-sector coordination to identify and ameliorate the health challenges that are the major
contributors to chronic absence
» Home visiting to help strengthen the parent/teacher relationship
» Broader, ongoing efforts to build early warning and rapid response systems to reduce and prevent chronic absence across schools
• Which summer learning strategies will we utilize?
» Community-wide messaging about the importance of summer learning, including parents and
caregivers reading to and with their children over the summer months, and about programs, services, and opportunities that are available
» Summer reading campaigns to encourage children to read over the summer and to increase
access to books
» County and community partner integration of early literacy skill development within high-quality summer programs of all types
» Cross-sector coordination to ensure access to summer meals, physical activities, and health and nutrition information in a variety of settings
• Which parent engagement strategies will we utilize to help parents achieve success?
» Promote and track early childhood developmental milestones and recognize early warning signs of
potential developmental delays
» Provide their children a wide range of age-appropriate books and reading materials in the home and in the community
» Close the word gap by talking, singing, and reading to their children » Engage in nurturing and responsive interactions with their young children
» Build the trusting relationships that will allow partnering with providers and teachers to co-produce good outcomes (attendance, academic performance and behavior) for their children
» Access and engage their children in summer activities and summer programs that match up with
their children’s academic needs
• Which strategies will we utilize for healthy readers?
» Access to high-quality prenatal care, adequate nutrition, and home visiting programs for low-income mothers to reduce high-risk for poor birth outcomes, social-emotional, and developmental screening, follow-up and support
» Partnerships to provide low-income children with vision, hearing, and oral health care services
» “Healthy homes” programs to address environmental hazards in homes and communities that lead
to elevated blood lead levels, childhood injuries, and triggers for asthma and other respiratory illnesses
» Summer nutrition programs that reach more children and serve as community anchors for literacy enhancement and physical activity
• Which strategies will we utilize to improve high-quality instructional practices?
» Provide access to literacy specific professional learning opportunities for instructional leaders, coaches, and teachers
» Track progress of students using authentic evidence gathered during the formative assessment process
» Provide research-based interventions to accelerate student learning
» Increase summer learning opportunities that encourage children to read over the summer
» Design learning opportunities that honor the whole child and meet individual student needs » Craft instruction using Next General Content Standards and Objectives
County Plan Part Four: Data
Explain the steps that will be taken to ensure ongoing availability of and access to the data needed to set baselines, track progress and ensure accountability. It would help to provide specifics on the following:
• From whom do we obtain pertinent data? • Where can we go to access data?
• What understandings have been reached and what agreements have been made to ensure ongoing access to needed data?
As you determine your potential to ensure ongoing availability of, and access to, the data needed to set baselines, track progress and ensure accountability, consider these guiding questions:
• Do we monitor data regularly and use it actively to guide implementation and track progress?
• Do we have data-sharing agreements in place with all the necessary agencies? (Public health, Local government, Other)
• What will we use to gather relevant data on key campaign indicators? • Which of the following indicators (or others) will we track?
Readiness
Percent of children from low-income families in accredited child-care settings, including publicly funded programs, Head Start and home-based providers
Percent of children from low-income families ages Birth–5 whose families read to them three days or more per week
Percent of children from low-income families ages Birth–5 whose families talk or sing to them every day
Percent of children from low-income families ages Birth–5 who receive a developmental screening Percent of low-income parents participating in home visiting programs
Attendance
Percent of PreK–3 students from low-income families who are chronically absent
Percent of students from low-income families in publicly funded pre-K and Head Start who are chronically absent
Summer/Extended Learning Opportunities
Percent of children from low-income families who participate in PreK high-quality summer/extended learning opportunities that include a literacy or pre-literacy component
Percent of children from low-income families who participate in a summer/extended learning reading program
Grade-Level Reading
Percent of third graders reading on grade level Percent of second graders reading on grade level Percent of first graders reading on grade level Percent of kindergartners reading on grade level Additional Indicators
Number of hours of professional learning opportunities for teachers specific to reading and/or literacy Availability of books to children and families
Quality and quantity of books in school and community libraries Percent of children eligible for free and reduced price lunch High school graduation rate
Percent of kids in full-day kindergarten Total investment in grade-level reading
• Which indicators will be most challenging to track?
• Will we share relevant data with parents and the community about key campaign indicators? If so, how?
• Is there shared accountability across our community for making progress on school readiness, school attendance, summer learning, and grade-level reading by 2020?
County Plan Part Five: Success and Sustainability
Explain the steps that will be taken to ensure confidence that this effort will have the broad-based support, capacity, and resources to succeed and endure. Considerations include:
• Mobilizing key stakeholders and important constituencies;
• Identifying the venues and forums for conversation, ongoing joint planning, tracking progress/making improvements, and collective action; and
• New and re-directed public, private, and philanthropic dollars as well as dedicated citizen service and volunteer contributions.
As you determine your potential for success and sustainability, consider these guiding questions:
• Does our County Leaders of Literacy Team view the campaign as a top priority and have the capacities needed for this leadership role?
• Is there a solid core of partners that will take the lead in managing strategy implementation and will perform effectively in their roles?
• What key organizations will be consistently involved in our County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading?
» Businesses
» Mayor’s Office or Other Political Leader
» Chamber of Commerce
» Media
» Community Foundations
» Museums
» Community Program Providers
» Faith-Based Organizations
» Parents as Mentors
» Philanthropic Organizations
» Public/Private Health Partner(s)
» Save the Children
» Higher Education » County Library » United Way » Literacy Coalition » YMCA » Others
• How will we secure funding to support the infrastructure and management of our campaign? • How will we engage parents and caregivers in our campaign?
» They will be members of our County Leaders of Literacy Team and/or subcommittees
» Surveys and/or focus groups of parents/caregivers will inform our work
» Parents/caregivers will be co-designers (from the very beginning of any activity) of our work » Every campaign goal or strategy will have an explicit focus on parents/caregivers
• What evidence of support will we need for our campaign from elected officials and civic leaders? • How will we mobilize volunteers to support the goals of the campaign?
» Tutoring
» Mentoring Reading
» Offering targeted outreach and supports using academic and attendance indicators
» Data analysis
» Family engagement and education
» Classroom support
» Advocacy
» Fundraising
» Contributing to school readiness
» Contributing to summer learning
» Contributing to school attendance
» Other
• Which community partner(s) do we need the most help engaging?
• What benefits do we anticipate from connecting our campaign to other change initiatives? • What challenges do we anticipate from connecting our campaign to other change initiatives?
