October-November 2015

Wake County Public Schools SES Literacy Department

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IS A RIGHT NOT A PRIVILEGE

Letter From Sherri Miller and the SES Literacy Team

Hello Autumn Sunshine! We hope the 2015-2016 year

is progressing nicely for you. Just as the leaves are starting to change on the trees, change is happening around Wake County Public Schools.

First, we welcome two new elementary schools, Abbots Creek, Scotts Ridge, as well as Apex Friendship High.

Next, the Academics, PreK-12 Literacy Team revised

the WCPSS Literacy logo to the one featured at the top of this page.The four literacy strands from the Common Core have been added across the top. The first letter in each word is highlighted, reflecting our district’s focus on academic language and daily intentional literacy practice. More on this to come. Note, the four Cs from the Strategic Plan are in the center, anchoring the work we do

everyday. While our core beliefs remain the same, these changes refocus our efforts around language and critical thinking.

in this issue: A Few Things to Remember 2

Lit. Instruction: Read-Aloud 2

Did You Know? 3

Spotlight: SPED Literacy PLCs 3

Calendar of Events 4

1. Special Education Literacy Blackboard Course This is the platform our team is using to store and share information as well as mediate conversations. If you have not already joined this self-enrolling course, you should. If you have, make sure to regularly check the site for announcements and new information.

2. Assessment At this point in the year, all identified students being served for literacy instruction should have been given beginning of the year assessments according to their grade band’s flowcharts. These can be found on the assessment section of the SPED Literacy Blackboard.

4. Materials/POD Pick-Up The next POD Pick-Up is 11/5/15 from 3:15-4:45 PM. 5. New Literacy Materials Available! Additional Letterland sets for CCR teachers and Recipe for Reading manuals are available at the POD now. Come and get them while they last!

We also have Making Connections workbooks for levels 3 and 4. Each teacher can get up to 6 copies of each level.

Middle school teachers can pick up sets of hi-lo readers for use with students receiving decoding instruction.

The Achievement Gap Reframed Recently, David Liben presented a workshop at DPI that reframed the causes of the Achievement Gap. He challenged us by stating that although the achievement gap may be created prior to school, school systems do nothing to repair it. In fact, they often increase it. Therefore, it was time to stop blaming and reflect on our own practices. He stated that less affluent students generally:

•had less knowledge

•hear and use less complex syntax

•were asked fewer questions

•knew fewer words

This year, we will look at key strategies that address these concerns. In our next newsletter, we will look at read-aloud in depth. It is an invaluable tool for building vocabulary and background knowledge, modeling fluent reading, and developing listening comprehension. Despite its power, preK-12 read-aloud is often eliminated by teachers to save time. Liben and many other researchers advocate the opposite, that it should be an integral part of a student’s daily instruction. He recommended one hour daily for K-2 and 30 min. daily for grades 3-8.

Look for detailed strategies for making the most of read-aloud in December. For more on Liben’s work, go to http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/297779.

Literacy Instruction

Did You Know?We have a SPED Literacy Blackboard course where you can find information about assessments, resources, strategies, professional development or your school’s coordinating literacy teacher (CLT).

Join this self-enrolling course if you have not already and check it regularly for updates, announcements and new content!

When you register for a course and then don’t show up, you prevent a colleague on the waitlist from attending. Please show professional courtesy and drop yourself from the eSchools registration list at least 24 hours in advance of the start date.

There are flowcharts to guide teachers through placement, grouping, and pacing of students using the Letterland Intervention Strand. They can be found on the Letterland Blackboard course.

SES Spotlight Are you wondering where to go now with the strategies learned in training or have you forgotten how to finger tap? Or perhaps you just want an opportunity to problem-solve with colleagues? If any of these describe you, one of our SES Literacy PLCs might be for you.

Check out one of these great opportunities below to deepen your learning and hone your skills in a collaborative environment. Even though they have begun, teachers are welcome to join us at any point in the year.

Elementary PLC—Orton-Gillingham Focus (SPE62421)

Middle School PLC—Orton-Gillingham Focus (SPE62422)

High School PLC—High School Reading Pilot (SPE62423)

Low-Incidence PLC—Literacy Strategies (SPE6242

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another

person, perhaps someone dead for

1,000 years. To read is to voyage through

time. —Carl Sagan

Calendar of EventsJu

ne1 POD Pick-Up: 3:15-4:45 PM

7 Recipe for Reading: Session 1

8 Recipe for Reading: Session 2

12 Columbus Day

14 Foundations of Reading: Session 1

15 Letterland Core Instruction, Kindergarten Session 1: 8:30-11:30 1st Grade: 1:00-4:30 Kindergarten Session 2: 1:00-4:30

SES Literacy PLC, High School Reading Pilot: 3:30-5:15

20 SES Literacy PLC, Elementary Orton-Gillingham: 4:15-6:00

21 Foundations of Reading: Session 2

22 Letterland Core Instruction, 1st Grade: 8:15-11:30

27 Letterland Core Instruction, 2nd Grade: 8:00-11:30 Kindergarten Session 1: 8:30-11:30

28 SES Literacy PLC, Middle School Orton-Gillingham: 3:30-5:15

29 Foundations of Reading: Session 3

4 Foundations of Reading: Session 4 SES Literacy PLC, Adapted Curriculum: 3:45-5:30

5 POD Pick-Up: 3:15-4:45 PM

11 Veteran’s Day Holiday

12 Foundations of Reading: Session 5

17 Letterland Intervention Instruction, Session 2: 1-4

16 Sonday System: Session 2 I Can Read: Session 1

18 Effective Instruction for Struggling Adolescent Readers: Session 1

19 Effective Instruction for Struggling Adolescent Readers: Session 2

26 Thanksgiving Holiday

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Administrative

Team:

Sherri Miller, Director of Literacy smiller@wcpss.net 1.919.431.7484

Missing In Action, Senior Administrator

1.919.431.7464

SES LITERACY DEPARTMENT ACADEMICS, WCPSS

5725 DILLARD DRIVE CARY, NC 27518

TEL: 1.919.431.7440 FAX: 1.919.431.7693

SES Literacy TeamMary Ashley Burch, Elementary CLT mburch@wcpss.net 1.919.431.7685 Elin Newton, Middle School CLT enewton@wcpss.net 1.919.431.7687 Angela Daye, Elementary CLT adaye@wcpss.net 1.919.431.7672 Susan Viggiano-West, High School CLT sviggiano@wcpss.net 1.919.431.7671 Heather Lowry, Elementary CLT hlowry@wcpss.net 1.919.431.7686

LITERACY is a RIGHT, not a privilege.WE ENVISION...

All students and teachers as highly efficient consumers of literacy tools that empower them to communicate, collaborate and engage in the 21st century global

environment.

Remember: Call a CLT if….

• you have a student who is not making progress in literacy and need help problem-solving their instructional plan • you want support implementing a literacy resource • you want to have conversations around student data • you would like us to attend a PLT ?