District 49 midyear literacy: 66% of K–3 students at or above grade level; district highlights DIBELS8 gains and new coaching structures

Georgiana Rappaport presented the district’s primary literacy midyear update to the Board of Education on Feb. 26, describing progress against District 49’s K–3 literacy goal and new instructional supports.

Rappaport said the district’s goal for K–3 is that 80% or more of students be at or above grade level at the end of the year. At midyear she reported 66% of K–3 students scoring at or above, compared with a year‑end rate of 76% the previous year. Nineteen percent of K–3 students were in the district’s “well below” category at midyear.

Rappaport explained that District 49 is in its second year of using DIBELS8 and that DIBELS8 produces composite measures that rely heavily on oral reading fluency (ORF) in fourth and fifth grade. She cautioned the board that in DIBELS8 fourth‑grade composites can be disproportionately affected by a single ORF passage because the ORF metric is heavily weighted in the composite score.

On growth measures, Rappaport said the district’s K–3 students showed a higher percentage of students at or above the national norm for growth than the national average, and kindergarten showed particularly strong results. Rappaport highlighted other assessment sources — STAAR early literacy, STAR Reading and student‑level dashboards in EduCLIMBER — and said staff are using a “body of evidence” rather than a single measure to guide interventions.

The district is elevating practices identified at zone‑level meetings of principals and literacy coaches and is setting action steps and coaching supports. Rappaport described professional development that emphasizes writing and structured discussion to support fluency and comprehension; she said research shows writing can strengthen reading fluency and described brief instructional videos and cohorts for teacher practice sharing. The district plans “read camp” programming in June and summer literacy supports to reduce summer regression.

Board members asked about EduCLIMBER, and Rappaport and staff described it as a new, district‑wide data platform that aggregates student records, attendance, special education flags and multiple assessment results into a single interactive view for principals and coaches.

Student accessibility tools were discussed: a board member recommended Bookshare and district staff noted audio books and read‑camp plans for summer enrollment.

Clarifying details: Rappaport reported 66% K–3 at/above midyear, 76% year‑end the prior year, and 19% well below at midyear. Kindergarten growth was strong; the district is in year two of DIBELS8 implementation. The primary literacy meetings were held at zone level in January and included principals, literacy coaches and central staff.

Why it matters: Early‑grade literacy is a major district goal tied to long‑term achievement. The district is shifting to a body‑of‑evidence approach to reduce reliance on any single assessment and is expanding coaching and summer programming.

Speakers (attributed in text): Georgiana Rappaport (primary literacy lead); Yuki Rockwell (district literacy coach, named by Rappaport); Board Directors including Director DeVola, Director Heil, Director Schmidt and others; student board members.

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