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Board adopts early‑literacy remediation plan required under Act 20; screening to begin next week
Summary
The board approved the district's early‑literacy remediation plan under Wisconsin Act 20. Winter universal screening of grades K–3 will begin next week; students below the 25th percentile will receive additional diagnostics and personal reading plans, with reporting to families and allowances for language‑access exceptions.
The board voted to approve the district's early‑literacy remediation plan required under Wisconsin Act 20.
Lisa, the district's ESS coordinator, told the board the plan used the WASB template and maps each statutory requirement to district procedures. She said winter screening for K–3 students will begin next week and will take about 10 days to complete. "We used the WASB template when we put together this early literacy remediation plan," Lisa said, explaining how the district crosswalked law requirements to operational steps.
Under the plan, universal screeners will be administered to all K–3 students; the district named the assessments it will use and identified a subset of measures that determine the "at risk" designation. Act 20 defines "at risk" as scoring below the 25th percentile on the designated universal assessments. Students identified below the 25th percentile will move to a diagnostic assessment process that covers multiple reading components (for example, phonemic awareness, letter‑sound knowledge and decoding). The presenters said some students who screen below the cutoff may receive as many as three additional diagnostic measures (meaning a first‑grade student could take two universal assessments plus up to three diagnostics).
Teams composed of teachers, reading interventionists, EL staff and special education case managers will meet to identify instructional services, monitor progress weekly, and prepare personal reading plans. The district will send universal screening reports to all families; students who receive diagnostics will also get a diagnostic report and a personalized reading plan describing interventions, home strategies and family communication protocols. Staff showed a sample email and said the report will include a QR code linking families to resources.
The plan addresses English‑language learners: presenters said testing may be done in a student's home language when a validated comparable assessment exists, and the plan allows the district to determine when a screening result is invalid or inaccurate for reasons such as a student's newcomer status. The board also directed a small editorial correction to the plan's translation contact line (removing an extra word after the listed email address).
Administrators said the district will use a team of about 10 literacy and math interventionists to administer assessments across buildings; assessment administration is a mix of one‑on‑one and group tests depending on grade and instrument.
Ending: The board approved the plan by voice vote; staff said they will begin winter screening next week, notify families via email and post the plan on the district website as required by law.
