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D C Everest board approves Act 20 early literacy remediation plan for K'023 students
Summary
Board approved the district's early literacy remediation plan required by Act 20; the plan uses AIMSweb screening, diagnostic follow-up and personal reading plans for K' grade students who score at or below the 25th percentile.
The D C Everest Area School District School Board voted to approve the district's early literacy remediation plan required under Wisconsin's Act 20, formalizing screening, diagnostic assessment and individualized reading plans for students in kindergarten through third grade.
District staff said winter universal screening will begin next week and will include districtwide assessments administered by the elementary literacy and math interventionists. Students scoring at or below the 25th percentile on the selected universal screeners will receive diagnostic assessments in specific areas (for example, phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge and spelling) to inform instruction and to create personal reading plans.
The plan uses AIMSweb as the state-chosen screening tool, staff said, and that represents a change from prior practice (teachers previously used i-Ready). Administrators told the board that the change in assessment and in required thresholds means more students will be identified for intervention and that some teacher discretion is reduced by statute; the district plans to preserve teacher input where legally permitted. Families will receive formal screening reports by email that describe assessment results in plain language, include recommended interventions and provide a QR code linking to family resources and home strategies.
Staffors said the district will deploy its team of elementary literacy and math interventionists (roughly 10 staff) to conduct the assessments; many diagnostics are one-on-one, and some group-administered measures will follow. Interventions will be monitored weekly and grade-level teams (including classroom teachers, EL staff, reading interventionists and special education case managers) will meet to set services and monitor progress. The district noted exceptions for newly arrived English-language learners; assessments that are not valid in the student's home language will not be used to place students into remediation improperly.
Board members asked about translation and parent communications; staff agreed to remove an errant word that appeared after the contact email in the draft report and confirmed the district will provide translated materials and that teams can determine when a screening result is invalid for language or other reasons. Several board members complimented the literacy team for work to reduce teacher burden by centralizing assessments and automating letters to families.
The motion to approve the remediation plan passed on a voice vote with all members present voting in favor.
