Oakwood Elementary highlights reading goals, coaching and training at Wayzata school board meeting

Oakwood Elementary staff told the Wayzata Public Schools Board of Education on Feb. 10 that the school’s primary building goal this year is literacy and that teachers and coaches are implementing new reading training, curricular materials and classroom coaching to support student growth.

School leaders said the building-level goal is for students to “meet or exceed literacy goals aligned with grade level standards as determined by each professional learning community.” The presentation listed several steps meant to reach that target: district training called REDACT for elementary teachers, Orton-Gillingham (OG) training in early grades, the addition of a literacy coach position, weekly professional learning community (PLC) work, and winter benchmark testing using FastBridge.

The spotlight presentation, led by principal Sarah Beth Denai and literacy coach Amber Hunt, emphasized coaching and collaborative planning. Denai said school teams use PLCs to identify essential standards and tailor instruction; Hunt described coaching cycles in which teachers observe and are observed and then debrief to refine instruction. “We will meet or exceed literacy goals aligned with grade level standards as determined by each professional learning community,” Denai said.

School staff told the board that most elementary teachers completed the district REDACT training and that kindergarten staff completed OG training last year while first-grade teachers trained this year. Amber Hunt said the literacy-coach role was new to elementary buildings last year and that coaches partner with PLCs and individual teachers to plan instruction, run small groups and provide in‑the‑moment feedback.

Staff reported that the district administered winter FastBridge benchmark tests and that teachers would use fall-to-spring growth targets to measure progress; Denai said the team expects to examine spring FastBridge results in May. The Oakwood presentation also noted schoolwide efforts to build student agency: student-friendly goal posters are posted around the building, and students shared short remarks during the presentation about how reading at school and home helps them grow.

Board members asked for additional detail about evidence of early gains. Board member Valentina Ayers asked whether the elementary teachers had finished REDACT training and how the training has affected student outcomes. Denai and Hunt said teachers had implemented the training into PLC work and classroom instruction; they and other administrators said qualitative teacher reports are positive and that measurable impacts would be clearer after spring benchmark comparisons. Superintendent Chase Anderson and other district leaders also told the board that multiple initiatives (curriculum adoption, OG training, coaching and REDACT) are intended to work together and make isolating a single cause difficult.

Denai also highlighted community involvement: the presentation said more than 40 community volunteers serve as literacy volunteers, meeting one student for 30 minutes each week. Staff described other school practices that support reading growth, including shared vocabulary across specialists, coordinated schoolwide reading events, and specialist collaboration to reinforce classroom goals.

The board did not take formal action on the Oakwood presentation. Staff said they will continue PLC work, review spring benchmark data in May and report back on progress next year.

A student excerpt from the presentation: “To be a better reader is to just to have more time to read and also read at home and read at school,” a student said during the school spotlight.

The board’s next regular work session is scheduled for Feb. 24; Oakwood staff said they would continue to use PLCs, coaches and benchmark data to track reading progress through the end of the school year.