The State Department of Education provided a progress update on implementation of the state's literacy initiatives, including LETRS teacher training, regional supports and development of core-reading program guidance.

Major updates
- LETRS rollout: Department presenters said cohort capacity has expanded and there is presently no wait list for LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training; districts that achieved mastery (80% or above) received recognition materials. State staff said LETRS is being widely praised by local educators and a study by the vendor PARCC is under way.

- Literacy task force and core reading guidance: The literacy task force has met over the summer and produced draft recommendations on quality core reading programs and portfolio guidance; the department expects near-final drafts this summer. Staff said the task force produced minimum essential standards aligned to the 2021 course of study.

- Screening and early assessment: The department noted expansion of formative assessments (six vendor options were noted elsewhere in meeting discussion) and that kindergarten-through-third-grade screening is being used to identify Tier 2 and Tier 3 students earlier in the year. That earlier data, presenters said, supports targeted intervention and summer programs.

- Dyslexia training and supports: Dyslexia awareness training has been provided through regional in-service centers and will be included at the statewide MEGA conference.

- Summer supports and materials: Department staff said summer learning camps and book-distribution efforts are under way; packaged reading sets for students in full-support schools will be provided and some districts are establishing small take-home libraries for students.

Why it matters: the literacy act and its professional-development components shape classroom-level reading instruction for early grades. Department officials said the combined strategy  training, assessments, regional coaching and summer programming  is intended to reduce reading deficits that may have widened during the pandemic.

Questions from the board and department responses
Board members pressed whether the state's supports and assessments provide enough lead time before any promotion decisions; the department said expanded screening and district-level coaching should reduce late-stage retention decisions and that federal ESSER funds were being used to underwrite intervention and summer programming. Department staff also noted guidance on how local education agencies can apply ESSER funds while awaiting final core-program recommendations.

Quotes (from the meeting record)
- "We don't have a wait list for LETRS," a department presenter reported. "The vendor has sent to all superintendents a box with those teachers that made an 80% or above."
- On dyslexia and reading frameworks, a presenter said: "The ARI modules are an introduction; LETRS is the gold standard."

Ending
Officials said final drafts of core-reading program recommendations and portfolio guidance would be completed this summer, that regional training will continue into the fall and that the department will provide materials, professional development and technical support to districts.