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Dare County Schools describes science-of-reading rollout and seeks higher turnout for summer reading camp
Summary
Dare County Schools directors described structured literacy implementation under state law, MCLASS/BOL screening trends and a summer reading camp designed for students below benchmark; officials asked board and community help to raise attendance among eligible students.
Dare County Schools presented an update on literacy on Jan. 13, outlining curriculum changes aligned with the science of reading and a targeted summer reading camp for K–3 students who screen below benchmark.
Director of Elementary Education Katie Spruill and early literacy specialist Reese Lambert said the district has moved from balanced literacy toward structured, explicit instruction across phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to meet the state’s requirements in Senate Bill 387.
"If you don't get it right in an elementary school, every piece of school suffers," Spruill said, summarizing why elementary literacy instruction is central to later success. The presenters described professional development (LETRS) for K–5 teachers, a curriculum adoption (Open Court and related programs), and an approved Literacy Intervention Plan submitted to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
The board heard specific summer reading camp figures from last year as evidence of a continuing outreach need: 726 K–3 students were eligible based on screening data; 356 enrolled; 285 attended; and 56 students (about 21% of eligible students) attended 80% or more of the camp days, the district said. Spruill said summer reading camp is a four‑week, half‑day (7:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Monday–Thursday) intervention that focuses on small‑group explicit instruction in foundational skills and content‑based comprehension. "We invite our kindergarten and first grade students who are not meeting the expected reading proficiency," she said.
Lambert described diagnostic grouping piloted in summer camp, called "Walk to Read" during the pilot, that places students into instruction groups based on specific skill diagnostics rather than grade level alone. "We gave every kid a diagnostic survey ... and then we took it and put kids into groups and used however many instructors we had, to say, okay. We can have 15 groups. We're gonna get these kids into 15 groups based on the skills, not their grade," Lambert said.
SPruiIll and Lambert noted that state law requires school units to submit an annual literacy intervention plan and provide summer reading camp to eligible second‑ and third‑graders with at least 72 hours of instruction. Dare County's plan was fully approved by NCDPI for the second year in a row, the presenters said.
The district asked for community help to increase sustained attendance at summer reading camp (defined as 80% attendance) by encouraging parents, providing childcare options for younger siblings, and by board members and community groups visiting or supporting camps. "This summer, I would love for us to come together and be able to ensure that every eligible student attends summer reading camp consistently," Spruill said.
Ending: Board members praised the work; student adviser Emerson Mann and others noted community incentives and partnerships. District leaders said they will continue implementation support, monitoring and community outreach to raise participation and track outcomes across cohorts as the K–1 LETRS cohort outcomes begin to appear in district data.
