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Board OKs Literacy Grant Purchases for Progress Monitoring and Whole-Class Texts
Summary
The board approved purchases from a competitive literacy grant, including an Amplify MClass progress-monitoring product (year-one funding) and whole-class HMH chapter-book sets for grades 3–5. Administrators said the purchases will support progress monitoring and PD for striving readers.
Queen Anne's County Public Schools on Aug. 6 approved purchases funded by a competitive Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant to support early literacy and progress monitoring.
Bridget Passen, English language arts supervisor, and Angela Gieber, supervisor of instruction for early childhood and RELA, told the board the district received the elementary portion of a grant allocation and prioritized progress monitoring and teacher professional development. Passen said the district negotiated a multi-year payment schedule with Amplify so the multi-year contract could be split across three years.
Passen described the Amplify MClass item as an assessment and intervention-matching product that will let staff progress monitor Tier 2 and Tier 3 readers every four to six weeks, offering a six-minute assessment that maps lessons for immediate intervention. She said she requested volunteers from reading specialists and teachers for initial training and reported filling 30 training slots scheduled for Aug. 21.
Motion language in the board docs lists the first-year fiscal impact for Amplify as $83,746.60; a different line in the transcript later shows a numeric inconsistency ($86,746.60). Administrators confirmed the purchase will be funded by the Comprehensive Literacy grant and said the contract includes a rider protecting the district if future grant funds are not released.
The board also approved a $60,769.92 purchase of whole-class chapter-book sets from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) for grades 3–5 to support shared reading and classroom community. Passen said these sets match texts already adopted in the district curriculum and will be paired with professional development for teachers.
What happens next: Teachers selected for volunteer training will attend initial sessions in August, and materials will be distributed to schools within roughly three weeks, according to administrators. The district will track implementation and report progress as part of curriculum and literacy policy development slated for the coming year.
