Reading Plan

For the 2017-2018 school year, the district did not have to develop a new reading plan. We had to take a survey as to how we were meeting the specifications of the state's reading plan (click the picture below)

Each school had to create a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goal and the district had to create an overarching goal. These goals can be found below. The survey results can be shared and discussed with you upon request

McCormick Employees: Please click here for our goals 

If you want our more detailed goals (Baseline data and Action Steps), please email me and indicate which school you are assigned to. Because that information can get sensitive, we need to take precaution when sharing. Thanks for your understanding!

There's also another little *tiny* (feel the sarcasm here) part of the plan: The Assurances

McCormick County School District has to assure the SC Department of education that it:

A. Documents and monitors the reading and writing assessment and instruction planned for all PK-12 students and the interventions in prekindergarten through twelfth grade provided to all struggling readers who are not able to comprehend grade-level texts.

• Why we're being picky on who's tested and who receives interventions (see "Reading Levels and Now What?" Page)
• Rubicon
• Progress Monitoring
• Writing Units on this blog (from the state department)
• Why NO ONE is exempt! 

B. Provides supplemental instruction by teachers who have a literacy teacher add-on endorsement offered during the school day and, as appropriate, before or after school in book clubs, through a summer reading camp, or both. 

• Why you have to take those R2S courses. ;)
• Why Fran is working with our reading coach and reading interventionists

C. Utilizes a system for helping parents understand how they can support their student as a reader at home.

• Monthly parent newsletter (see "For Parents" page)
• Classes for parents (email me if you have any thoughts or ideas on best ways to make this successful)

D. Provides for reading and writing achievement and growth at the classroom, school, and district levels with decisions about intervention based on all available data.

• School data meetings
• Coaching and intervention from D.O. personnel as well as certified teachers at all three levels based on current data (See "Reading Levels and Now What?" page)
• Many forms of data analyzed including Reading levels, MAP, standardized testing, progress monitoring, and teacher observations - ensuring that a student is never just a number, but rather a child with numbers to help guide us professionals to the best mode of intervention toward success.

E. Ensures that students are provided with wide selections of texts over a wide range of genres and written on a wide range of reading levels to match the reading levels of students.

• Classroom libraries 
• Weekly check-out at the school media center

F. Provides teacher and administrator training in reading and writing instruction.

• Continuous PD throughout the school year from instructional coaches and D.O. personnel
• R2S course trainings through VirtualSC

G. Develops partnerships with county and state libraries, state and local arts organizations, volunteers, social service organizations, community partners and school library media specialists to promote reading and writing.

• McCormick County Library
• MACK (see the various activities on the "Summer Reading Camp 2017" page)
• Parent Volunteers

H. Embeds practices reflective of exemplary literacy-rich environments.

• District-Wide long range goal of implementing balanced literacy at all levels.
• Focusing one year at a time on one element at a time of balanced literacy. For the 2017-2018 school year, the focus is Independent Reading and Conferencing

I. Reviews and monitors district and school reading plans.

• Monitored by Curriculum team at the end of each semester. 
• Data from observations and PD's added continuously.
• Data and findings will be discussed with teachers in their data meetings.

J. Maintains district and school data collection and analysis tools for SCDE monitoring and review of implementation of reading plans.

• Reading Plans and all files pertaining to the plan are kept on file as an electronic and a hard copy. The plan is submitted by the R2S liaison
• The state plan and the school and district goals are public to the teachers 

K. Enters all data requirements into PowerSchool as required by Act 284.

• Students participating in summer reading camp or retained are reported to the state department as well as their reading levels at the beginning and end of the school year and SRC. Interventions are also noted on this document as well as their "good cause exemptions" already in PowerSchool prior to the end of the third grade school year.
• I personally have no access to PowerSchool - that's above my pay grade (😉 ) - but I do report the above information to the schools and to the state for them to do their PowerSchool magic, so everything should be correct. And, as Act 284 (R2S Act) has the word "PowerSchool" in it a total of 0 times and no one has chopped my head off (yet), I guess I'm 100% accurate...Come on, South Carolina DOE. Seriously. (I told you I had 2 cents on everything!)