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District reports midyear VALS literacy gains in K–3; English learners highlighted as a subgroup needing support
Summary
District staff presented midyear results from the Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALS) showing improved percentages of K–3 students in the low-risk band compared with fall screening and with the end of last year; staff cautioned that English learners and high-risk students require sustained interventions.
District curriculum staff presented midyear results from VALS (Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System) for kindergarten through third grade and reported improvement in the share of students classified as low risk for reading difficulties compared with fall screening and with the end of last year.
Monica and Judy (district presenters) said VALS measures a combination of code-based skills (phonics and word reading), language-for-meaning skills, and processing measures such as rapid automatized naming. The district uses VALS to assign risk bands—low, moderate, high—and to generate teacher and parent reports that inform interventions and student reading plans.
Presenters showed kindergarten growth as an example: midyear results moved kindergarten students from roughly 25% low risk in the fall to about 61% low risk by midyear, a change the presenters described as encouraging. The presenters cautioned that students in the high-risk band often have multiple foundational gaps and therefore require longer, targeted intervention; by contrast, moderate-risk students may need more limited remediation.
Presenters also noted that English learners are overrepresented in the moderate- and high-risk bands in district-level aggregates and said principals and school teams must review newcomer status and language-proficiency timelines when planning interventions.
Staff described supporting activities: multi-year teacher training in science-of-reading practices, new language-arts instructional materials adopted last year, in-school coaching, regional and state partnerships, and a pilot with the Virginia Department of Education and the New Teacher Project to provide additional coaching. Staff said reading plans are developed with parents for high-risk students and include monitoring and parent communication.
Board members praised the work and asked about parent engagement and how the district supports families; staff said schools run literacy nights, provide parent materials explaining VALS reports, and use parent-teacher conferences for communication. No formal board action was required; the presentation was informational.
