Patrick County reports midyear K–3 reading gains under Virginia Literacy Act programs

Patrick County Public Schools officials reported Feb. 13 that midyear assessments show notable improvements in K–3 reading risk bands after several months of targeted interventions tied to the Virginia Literacy Act.

“Much like every other school division in Virginia, we are implementing requirements through the Virginia Literacy Act,” Andrea (Miss) Castle, a district literacy leader, told the school board. Castle said the division adopted Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) earlier and is now using screening and intervention tools required by the law.

Castle presented fall-to-midyear comparisons for kindergarten through third grade. She said fall testing showed 87 students in the high-risk band who required reading plans; by midyear that number had dropped to 20. Castle said low-risk students increased from 46 in the fall to 300 at midyear in the division’s reporting. The district reported that roughly 550–575 students make up the K–3 cohort being tracked.

Castle and other staff credited the gains to daily small-group interventions using UFLI and Lexia, newly scheduled intervention blocks (about 30–40 minutes), training for teachers and teaching assistants, and a district reading specialist and coaches who work with classroom staff. “We’ve seen 67 students move out of the high-risk band after intensive remediation,” Castle said when summarizing the midyear results.

Superintendent Wood added that the division will continue implementing required teacher modules and reading plans for students who test as high risk. He and Castle emphasized that the division participates in NAEP testing but said NAEP results do not provide school-level feedback for Patrick County.

Board members received the report as information; no formal action or funding vote was taken during the meeting.