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Board hears literacy-law implementation: Savvas materials adopted, dyslexia screening and teacher training progress reported
Summary
District curriculum staff told the board they adopted K–8 Savvas English language arts materials for six years, are tracking dyslexia screening/reporting tied to the state law, and reported teacher completion rates for science-of-reading professional learning.
Curriculum staff updated the Harris County Board of Education on July 1 about steps the district is taking to comply with Georgia’s literacy-related requirements and to roll out new K–8 instructional materials.
Dr. Denny said the district adopted Savvas materials for kindergarten through eighth grade as the district’s high-quality instructional materials for the next six years. He described work to align scope and sequence and to provide teacher planning and modeling sessions with Savvas representatives in July. Dr. Patterson and grade-level teams have scheduled planning and training sessions, including digital-platform training and a July 31 session on the program’s enhanced writing feature.
District staff also explained new dyslexia-related reporting obligations under state rules: the district must report annually how many students were screened, how many scored below the district’s cut point on the screener (Denny described that cut as “below the 15th percentile”), and how many students moved through MTSS tiered interventions without adequate response and therefore require further evaluation. Dr. Denny said the district is completing documentation and rubrics the state now requires for students at risk.
On professional learning, staff reported 89.5% of teachers met the science-of-reading training requirement at the time of the earlier submission and that number had risen to about 93% as missing modules were completed; staff projected reaching roughly 98–99% by the start of next school year. Training routes cited included LETRS, Cox Campus literacy modules and Orton‑Gillingham options; district leaders said newly hired teachers meeting state requirements are being marked as compliant.
Board members asked clarifying questions about cursive/script instruction; curriculum staff said Savvas includes a consistent script program that the district will begin systematically in second grade and continue through fifth grade.
No policy votes were taken during the update; staff said they will continue planning work and return to the board with implementation details.
