Port Jervis elementary teams introduce new reading and leadership programs
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Summary
Elementary-school staff presented new literacy and leadership initiatives — InterReading, Heggerty phonemic instruction, DIBELS assessment and Leader in Me lighthouse teams — and reported attendance-tracking goals and early positive feedback on curriculum changes.
Elementary-school leaders for the Port Jervis City School District outlined a set of new literacy and leadership programs at the board’s Dec. 16 meeting, saying the initiatives aim to strengthen reading skills and student self-direction across the district.
Mr. Carroll, an elementary presenter, said the district is beginning implementation of the Leader in Me framework and creating lighthouse teams to build students’ leadership roles and self-directed data tracking. He noted the district has set an elementary attendance goal of 94 percent by 2028 and reported that, when the team pulled November data, “we were sitting right at that 94 percent as an elementary as a whole.”
Presenters described a three-pronged literacy approach. One is InterReading, a K–5 reading program that staff began implementing in September; presenters said teachers received professional development before school started and that January and February will feature additional training. A second program, Heggerty, was introduced for pre-K through grade 2 as core instruction (grade 3 as an intervention) to give students explicit phonemic-awareness practice that staff said was missing from prior materials. A third component is expanded diagnostic assessment: staff explained that DIBELS, a multi-subtest reading assessment, provides deeper diagnostic detail to guide groupings and interventions.
Staff also described LinkIt, a data-warehouse platform they are piloting for attendance and MTSS conversations. A presenter said LinkIt produces graphs and student-by-student data that are useful during parent conferences and for identifying where students need support.
Board members praised the presentations and the cross-building collaboration they said has supported the initiatives. One noted that gamifying attendance data can help students track progress. The board did not take formal action on curriculum items during the meeting.
The district said it will continue professional development and monitor assessment results; progress reports for secondary schools are scheduled to be distributed Dec. 19, and district leaders said they will report back as implementation proceeds.