Literacy Vision and Culture

Literacy provides the foundation to insure that students graduate with the world class knowledge and skills they need to be college and career ready. Comprehensive reading reform reinforces the Lancaster County School District Vision of “Putting our Children First.” All educators in the district will be provided with the training and resources needed to help each student develop the reading skills and proficiencies needed to participate in our global society.

Context

Literacy is integrated throughout everything students and teachers do. Therefore, this plan is interconnected with all plans that affect teaching and learning. This document will guide resource allocation in the budget process, and it will guide priorities as principals complete their Title 1 plans. The long term literacy goals will be monitored at the school level through yearly school improvement plans and at the district level through the strategic plan with yearly and five year goals.

Communication

Components of the plan will be communicated to stakeholders through the same measures as the district strategic plan and school improvement plans. This plan will be linked to the district website and school websites. The plan will be presented to the school board, and principals will share the plan through their staff and school improvement councils.

Implementation

Implementation of the components will be monitored by principals, academic directors, and the district literacy specialist.

BELIEFS

Component 1: Leadership

We believe in holding ourselves accountable as we develop and strengthen a generation of readers and writers by guiding student learning and supporting evidence-based research practices. We support teachers, administrators, and stakeholders through professional development, curriculum, and resources.

Component 2: Student Outcomes

We believe in developing clear and measurable student learning outcomes and achievement goals. We strive to guide each student to demonstrate continual growth towards individualized literacy goals in comprehension, accuracy, and fluency, while expanding vocabulary and creating lifelong readers.

Component 3: Professional Learning Opportunities

We believe teachers are lifelong learners. With a systemic plan, we will continuously provide learning opportunities for all educators and other stakeholders who assist our students in achieving goals. It is our belief that the district must provide opportunities for professional growth at each school, and throughout the district, by encouraging teachers to seek and achieve personal educational interest and data driven school goals.

Component 4: Assessment Plan

We believe that continuous formative and summative assessments will be used to monitor student progress and to guide instruction for the purpose of setting individualized student achievement goals. Through progress monitoring, students’ individual needs can be established and used to drive instruction.

Component 5: Instructional Plan

We believe our goal is to provide each student with coaching on his appropriate reading level and to prescriptively guide growth as a reader. We will guide the reader’s growth with the use of:

- summative and formative assessments,

- progress monitoring,

- focused, explicit instruction,

- effective use of the Continuum of Literacy Learning,

-use of Scarborough's Reading Rope and the 8 components of literacy instruction,

- integration of content areas, and

- seamless flow of inquiry.

Component 6: Parent and Family Involvement

We believe education is a shared responsibility. Schools should use every medium possible to communicate frequently and effectively with families. It is the district’s goal to have a comprehensive involvement plan that addresses the needs of our teachers and students while encouraging parent and family participation within our schools.

Component 7: School-Community Partnerships

We believe relationships with communities, businesses, local government, educators, and parents are critical for student success and quality education. Teachers, administrators, parents, and communities share the responsibility of advancing the educational mission of our district. Each of these stakeholders offers an important knowledge base and expertise, as well as invaluable resources. These relationships provide a coherent continuum of services for students’ success.

Lancaster County School District

English Language Arts

Literacy Guide

Literacy Beliefs

LCSD Reading Instruction

Explicit Expectations for Literacy Instruction

Read to Succeed

District Reading Plan

Literacy Assessment Portfolio

LCSD Teacher Resources

Bailey Threatt