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Implement elements from the science of reading utilizing core resources for English Language Arts through the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)/Caminos (Spanish) curriculum. The outcome of this initiative is implementation of the science of reading instructional practices through the rollout of curriculum materials and teacher supports, including aligned professional development opportunities, common instructional practices, and routines. 

2023-24 Winter Progress Update 

An instructional leadership memo was shared with all leaders in January. During this time, an instructional walk-through tool to progress monitor implementation of best instructional practices was introduced. To ensure buy in and an opportunity for feedback, school leaders were invited to share input on this tool before implementation. This tool will be used in the future to collect implementation data. 

The i-Ready Diagnostic from fall-to-winter was used as a quantitative measure to celebrate both growth and proficiency. These metrics are used to highlight where literacy strategies are going well and areas of improvements. All school leaders engaged in data analysis and training in the fall and winter with the i-Ready training team. This calibrated training is bringing data analysis and accountability to a more systemic culture of data literacy that will continue to build in the coming months. 

Data analysis will continue as the spring results of i-Ready show us yearlong growth. Using the instructional walk-through data to analyze potential patterns of growth with i-Ready will help us as a Teaching and Learning team to be able to articulate what intentional strategies with instructional practices and professional development contribute to growth. 

Teaching & Learning teams are partnered with the Research & Evaluation team and an external partner, The Learning Accelerator (TLA), around the implementation of instructional best practices around the Science of Reading. This is a shift from the balanced literacy approach.

In addition to this external partnership, the professional development that began late spring and during the summer months launched teachers into training around the use of our newly adopted curriculum CKLA. Ongoing into the school year, each school has participated in a studio-style training at each elementary school provided by consultants from Strive.

This model includes co-constructed design of professional training for each school site. Members of this team include school leadership, teaching staff and Teaching & Learning members. The training begins with a pre-brief that reviews the design of the lesson plan that will be demonstrated in a classroom. After the lesson demonstration, the team comes together to debrief on what was observed and implications for future teaching and learning practices. Each school has been scheduled to engage in the next round of studio sessions during the upcoming winter months.

Further, a literacy instructional walk-through tool has been developed and will be launched with school leadership and Teaching and Learning leaders in January. This calibrated accountability for implementation of best literacy instructional practices includes the classroom environment and routines, engaging instructional strategies, and soon, classroom formative assessment practices.

This is an ongoing priority initiative throughout the course of our 5-year goal to prepare students to be global citizens. The stagnant and declining literacy across the country and specific to KSD brings urgency to literacy skills for students in grades PreK-12. This is why we are not only making literacy a priority for elementary; our middle and high school grades are also prioritizing literacy as a crucial skill for our instructional staff to teach students. Additionally, we are engaging leaders in building data literacy through coherent learning around data analysis skills and how to use data to inform school improvement goals and resource allocation around data-driven strategies. We strive to see this impact support students' growth in literacy across all grade levels throughout the next 5 years of this strategic plan goal.

Centering Stakeholder Voice

Feedback from stakeholders who participate in professional development is collected and shared with trainers to inform any necessary adjustments. The results from the systemwide benchmark assessment, i-Ready Diagnostic that is administered three times per year, will provide Teaching and Learning with progress monitoring data that includes domain specific skills such as informational text comprehension and vocabulary.

Additionally, we are working with our Research & Evaluation team and TLA (mentioned above) on qualitative measures from stakeholders around the year of implementation of new literacy practices. The results and feedback received will help to inform how practices impact changes in student outcomes that will be measured in the spring with i-Ready proficiency, growth and SBA.