Morgan County board approves annual early literacy plan

The Morgan County Board of Education voted to approve the district's annual early literacy plan following a presentation from Morgan High principal Paul Wilkinson, who outlined the district's goals, progress and next steps.

Wilkinson described year-to-year measures the state requires and the district's focus on submeasures that drive composite scores. "Our math goal for the year is to maintain the number of students testing at or above benchmark," Wilkinson said, adding that the three-year state calculation initially showed a 28% drop in the first year, improved to a 10% gain last year, and that the district plans to move to growth targets once the composite baseline stabilizes.

Why it matters: early literacy underpins later academic success and state accountability. Wilkinson said the district is using intervention blocks, literacy nights and volunteers to support students identified as at risk. "We do have a lot of parent volunteers...they read with some of our 'bubble kids' who are at risk of falling behind," he said, describing targeted supports. He also credited the 95% Group program with contributing to strong third-grade growth: "82 percent of our students made typical or better growth this last year in third grade."

Board action: A board member (Speaker 9) moved to approve the plan and another board member (Speaker 2) seconded the motion. Chair (Speaker 1) called the question and the motion passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Next steps: The approved plan will be implemented in the coming school year with continued monitoring of three-year state metrics and local growth measures; board members asked for ongoing updates as the district transitions from maintenance goals to growth-oriented targets.