Read to Succeed Reading Plan

South Carolina Department of Education

Read to Succeed Primary and Elementary Reading Plan

2025-2026

LETRS Questions:

· How many teachers in your school have completed Volume 1 ONLY of LETRS? 1

· How many teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS? 17

· How many teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year? 5

· How many teachers in your school are beginning Volume 2 of LETRS this year? 2

· How many CERDEP PreK teachers in your school have completed EC LETRS? 0

· How many CERDEP PreK teachers in your school are beginning EC LETRS this year? 1

Section A: Describe how reading assessment and instruction for all PreK-5^th grade students in the school includes oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to aid in the comprehension of texts to meet grade‑level English/Language Arts standards.

The reading curriculum used at Oakland Elementary is CKLA Amplify. CKLA is a research and evidence-based curriculum that aligns with the Science of Reading. It is the curriculum that Charleston County School District adopted in 2024. In grades kindergarten through third grade, there are two components of the curriculum: skills block and knowledge block. Each block is sixty minutes long daily. In grades four and five, there is one knowledge block that has a strong focus on comprehension. The upper-grades curriculum is designed for ninety minutes daily. Grades CD (Child Development) through grade two also incorporate the Heggerty curriculum within daily reading instruction. The Heggerty curriculum focuses on phonological awareness, one of the essential beginning reading strands in Scarborough’s Reading Rope.

The focus in CD through grade one is letter and word recognition skills. Phonological awareness, decoding (including letter-sound correspondences and the alphabetic principle), and sight word recognition are the early reading skills that students must be strong in and increasingly automatic to obtain the higher-level strands of language comprehension. Grade two solidifies the word recognition skills to help create a skilled reader. In grades three through five, the instruction shifts to language comprehension skills. Vocabulary, language structure, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge are part of the daily ELA instruction. Language comprehension skills, along with word recognition skills, help the students become skilled, fluent readers. The grade-level instruction is based on the rigor of the South Carolina English/Language Arts standards. CKLA exposes all students to grade-level text, even to our struggling readers. This exposure improves comprehension and vocabulary while supporting grade-level content.

In addition, grades kindergarten through fifth grade use I-Ready as the district diagnostic assessment and as an adaptive digital content. Students take the diagnostic assessment three times a year to monitor grade-level knowledge, reading ability, and progress. Based on the results, an individualized pathway is created to support or enrich students in the areas of phonological awareness, high-frequency words, phonics, and comprehension of fiction and nonfiction texts. Teachers monitor progress and support students’ needs frequently.

Our reading intervention curriculum is also Science of Reading-based. Our reading interventionists serve tier three and high priority tier two students in grades one through five. Depending on individual needs, students are placed into one of the three district-approved curriculum and are progress monitored through Fastbridge. The weekly progress monitoring is determined by the student’s individualized focus (for example, nonsense words or comprehension of a grade-level passage).

In grades three through five, the students are given district checkpoints three times a year. The checkpoints mimic SC Ready-type questions and the data is used to drive instruction. The checkpoints are not graded but rather used as an instructional tool to help teachers know which standards are being mastered or need to be retaught. All of Oakland Elementary’s reading diagnostics, progress monitoring, summative assessments and formative assessments directly align with the South Carolina English/Language Arts standards. These assessments assess skills of oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Section B: Document how Word Recognition assessment and instruction for PreK-5^th grade students are further aligned to the science of reading, structured literacy and foundational literacy skills.

The goal for our early childhood grades is for students to quickly and automatically interpret letters and spelling pattern sounds of written words. Once word recognition skills are established, then students can identify words and their meanings and become fluent readers. Our CD through grade one curricula along with small group instruction focus on identifying graphemes and phonemes. Once this essential reading skill is taught, practiced, and assessed the instruction changes to blending, decoding, and encoding sounds. These reading skills are directly aligned with the Science of Reading and are part of the word recognition strands on Scarborough’s Reading Rope.

Teachers teach the letter sounds systematically and explicitly, starting with the most common sounds. Students are exposed to words with sounds that were taught in isolation and then within decodable text. Students also practice repeated reading orally to build fluency. Classrooms have sound walls to support students with phonics, decoding, spelling, orthographic mapping, and as a visual reference.

Based I-Ready diagnostics, if there are identified gaps in the foundational language comprehension skills, further screenings will help structure small group instruction with reteaching or a pull-out group with a reading interventionist. The skills follow the scope and sequence provided by the South Carolina English/Language Arts standards with specific grade-level indicators. CKLA Amplify has a skills portion of the curriculum that focuses on structured literacy and foundational literacy skills.

CKLA embedded assessments, formal and informal assessments within lessons, I-Ready diagnostics, progress monitoring of isolated skills based on need, and Fastbridge assessments in kindergarten and grade one are all valuable sources of data that align with the Science of Reading, specifically the foundational literacy skills and provide data to inform flexible groups within the classroom.

Section C: Document how the school uses universal screener data and diagnostic assessment data to determine targeted pathways of intervention (word recognition or language comprehension) for students in PreK-5^th grade who have failed to demonstrate grade‑level reading proficiency.

All students in grades kindergarten through grade five take the I-Ready reading diagnostic assessment three times a year. Kindergarten and grade one are also administered the Early Reading Fastbridge three times a year. CD administers the myIgids reading assessments during the same testing windows. These universal screeners produce data to help determine gaps, needs, and pathways for intervention. Core phonics screeners are used to determine the specific breakdown in word recognition or language comprehension skills. The data from these multiple data points assist with the decision about types of instruction, small group groupings, and curriculum.

I-Ready and Fastbridge diagnostics create reports that give nationally normed percentiles, grade level equivalents, and/or risk levels to assist teachers in making individualized instructional decisions about student reading pathways. Once students are in intervention for these early reading skills, progress monitoring through Fastbridge is implemented weekly. The literacy team reviews these points monthly during trend checks to determine any necessary changes to help support each child’s goal on the path to grade-level reading proficiency.

Our early elementary and reading interventionists have either completed or are in the process of completing LETRS. LETRS is a two-year professional development course that is research and evidence-based and supports the Science of Reading. The skills and knowledge gained in this course increase teacher knowledge and provide strategies and tools to implement effective and structured literacy instruction within the classroom.

Section D: Describe the system in place to help parents in your school understand how they can support the student as a reader and writer at home.

Oakland Elementary is always striving for consistent ongoing communication with parents. After each testing window, family reports for the I-Ready and Fastbridge assessments are sent home with a breakdown of the different reading domains that were assessed and ways to support the child at home with reading. Data conferences are scheduled with each family to discuss in detail the student’s academic successes and areas of opportunity. Teachers provide additional resources, homework, books on students' level and discuss other ways reading and writing can be supported at home. The use of social media, websites, teacher newsletters, and parent/teacher communication apps helps with two-way communication to discuss the reading and writing needs of students and ways to promote literacy at home. Teachers hold conferences again at the end of the semester to review goals and make sure students are on track to meet grade-level proficiency. As a school, we monitor our third-grade reading data closely who are not demonstrating grade-level reading have several parent-teacher conferences with the classroom teacher and reading coach to discuss progress, how the school is supporting the child’s reading needs, and ways to support at home.

Section E: Document how the school provides for the monitoring of reading achievement and growth at the classroom and school level with decisions about PreK-5^th grade intervention based on all available data to ensure grade-level proficiency in reading.

Reading growth is consistently measured for all students at Oakland Elementary. Three times a year district district-approved assessments (Myigids, Fastbridge Early Reading, I-Ready Reading, and district checkpoints) are administered. Teachers have frequent data conferences with individual students using the data from student reading I-Ready pathways. Before I-Ready diagnostic testing, teachers have goal-setting conferences with each student. Goals and stretch goals are created, and ways to achieve those goals are discussed. In weekly PLCs and quarterly grade-level planning days, the literacy coach, along with the grade-level teachers, analyzes current data and makes decisions at the individual, class or grade level to ensure grade-level proficiency in reading. Besides using benchmark assessments, teachers use formal and informal CKLA embedded assessments. Teachers use the data to plan, reteach or enrich the grade-level ELA standards. Teachers and coaches review the CKLA assessments to ensure the rigor matches the ELA/Language state standards and make adjustments as needed.

Once a month, the literacy team meets to review progress monitoring for the students being served in reading intervention. They bring their findings and suggestions to the MTSS team. The MTSS team then makes decisions based on the growth or needs of identified students. Three times a year, the MTSS team will analyze school-wide diagnostic data to look for trends, areas of concern, and/or students that need additional reading support. Next steps are determined and are implemented in an appropriate time frame. The ongoing monitoring of reading achievement ensures all students’ needs are met to help support grade-level proficiency. At the end of the school year, we determine a priority list of students based on spring data so we are ready in the fall.

Section F: Describe how the school provides teacher training based in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills to support all students in PreK-5^th grade.

Teachers who work with students in CD through grade three have either completed or are in the process of completing LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling). The state-mandated professional development is a two-year program in which educators gain knowledge of how the brain learns to read and write. Developed by Dr. Louisa Moats the program breaks down fundamental literacy skills, ensuring a deep understanding for teachers. LETRS is based on a structured literacy approach and teaches how to effectively teach foundational literacy skills. In weekly PLCs, the literacy coach and other district professionals, lead professional development that improves literacy instruction. In the past two years, Oakland Elementary was part of the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant. The grant provided opportunities for teachers to attend professional development that supports the Science of Reading and best practices for working with all students.

Section G: Analysis of Data

Strengths

Possibilities for Growth

66.2% of students in grades 3-5 scored meets or exceeds on the Spring 2025 SC Ready ELA test.

72.9% of 3^rd grade students met or exceeded their annual typical growth on Spring 2025 I-Ready Reading diagnostic.

84.5% of students scored at grade level in the High Frequency Words domain on the Spring 2025 I-Ready Reading diagnostic.

The median percentile on the Spring 2025 Fastbridge Early Reading test was 26% in the letter sounds domain.

56% of 2^nd grade students scored below grade level on the Spring 2025 I-Ready Reading diagnostic.

45% of pupils in poverty in grades3-5 scored not met or approaches on the 2025 SC Ready ELA test.

Section H: Previous School Year SMART Goals and Progress Toward Those Goals

Please provide your school’s goals from last school year and the progress your school has made towards these goals. Utilize quantitative and qualitative data to determine progress toward the goal (s). As a reminder, all schools serving third grade were required to use Goal #1 (below).

Goals

Progress

Previous Goal #1 (Third Grade Goal): Reduce the percentage of third graders scoring Does Not Meet in the spring of 2024 as determined by SC READY from 22.8 % to 18.2% in the spring of 2025.

In the Spring of 2025, 3.6% of third graders scored not met on the SC Ready Reading test. This well surpasses our goal of 18.2%

Previous Goal #2:

The percentage of students in grades 3-5 scoring meets or exceeds on SC Ready ELA will increase from 63.2% to 68.6% in the Spring of 2025.

In the Spring of 2025, 66.2% of students in grades 3-5 scored either meets or exceeds on the SC Ready Reading test. This is an increase of 3% from the 2024 Reading SC Ready Reading test. We will continue to work on increasing the number of students whose scores meets or exceeds on the 2026 SC Ready Reading test.

Previous Goal #3:

The percentage of students in grade 1 scoring low risk on Early Reading Fastbridge will increase from 49% to 59% in the Spring of 2025.

The percentage of students in grade 1 scoring low risk on the Spring 2025 Early Reading Fastbridge was 55% This was increase of 6% We will continue to work on increasing the number of students whose score low risk on the 2026 Spring Early Reading Fastbridge.

Section I: Current SMART Goals and Action Steps Based on Analysis of Data

· All schools serving students in third grade MUST respond to the third grade reading proficiency goal. Note the change in language for the 3^rd grade goal to align with the 2030 vision of 75% of students at or above grade level. Schools that do not serve third grade students may choose a different goal. Goals should be academically measurable. All goals should align with academic growth or achievement. Schools must provide a minimum of two goals.

· Schools are strongly encouraged to incorporate goals from the school renewal plan. Utilize a triangulation of appropriate and available data (i.e. SC READY, screeners, MTSS progress monitoring, benchmark assessments, and observational data) to set reasonable goal(s) for the current school year.

Goals

Action Steps

Current Goal #1 (Third Grade Goal): Increase the percentage of third graders scoring Meets and Exceeds in the spring of 2026 as determined by SC READY from 71.4 % to 73.4 % in the spring of 2025.

· Use the CKLA curriculum with integrity

· Teach all the grade-level standards with appropriate rigor

· Consistently use multiple data points to measure student growth and to drive instruction

· Have all tier 3 students in an intervention to support their reading needs

· Attend weekly PLCs to unpack standards and review assessments to make sure they meet the rigor of the standards/determine what students need to know and be able to show for mastery

· Have monthly MTSS Literacy meetings to review data at the school, grade, class and student levels and make action steps when needed

· Teachers and school leaders have consistent communication with families about students’ reading data and ways to support at home

· Classroom teachers are conducting small group instruction regularly to reteach, remediate or enrich students’ learning

· Consistent usage of I-Ready and teachers have consistent data chats with students based on weekly reports

· Use writing standards to enhance the CKLA curriculum as needed

Current Goal #2: Increase the percentage of third graders scoring Meets and Exceeds in the spring of 2026 as determined by SC READY from 66.2 % to 68.9 % in the spring of 2025.