Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Literacy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District staff outlines secondary literacy plan, sets 80% proficiency goal for 2027
Summary
A district curriculum presenter described a new secondary literacy plan aligned with Iowa’s structured‑literacy guidance and the science of reading, proposing vocabulary, comprehension and cross‑content literacy priorities and an 80% proficiency target by May 2027; exact current districtwide proficiency was described as "not known."
A district curriculum presenter reviewed Lewis Central’s work to add a secondary portion to a districtwide literacy plan and said the priority is coherence across grades K–12, stronger alignment with the science of reading and consistent implementation across subject areas.
The presenter said the secondary plan emphasizes three priorities: vocabulary development, comprehension with evidence‑based practices, and literacy integration across content areas such as science and social studies. The district has been developing a rubric and implementation supports so building teams can score and act on identified gaps, the presenter said.
The presentation tied local work to recent state guidance and legislation that officials described as shifting instruction toward structured literacy and away from approaches broadly labeled as "balanced literacy." “Structured literacy is just making sure that there’s very explicit instruction around the science of reading,” the presenter said, summarizing the state direction.
Board members asked for the district’s current baseline. One board member asked, “What percentage are we currently at?” The presenter replied the district does not have a single consolidated figure: some buildings and grades (notably seventh and eighth grades at the middle school) are above 80 percent, while other areas are below that threshold.
Board members also asked about costs if the district changes curriculum materials. The presenter said the change would be a significant purchase because language arts is on the district’s curriculum review cycle and is aligned this year with social studies, meaning two large curricular areas are being reviewed concurrently.
The presenter described implementation planning as a central focus: the district intends to identify lead measures (for example, fidelity of Tier 1 literacy practices, common formative assessments and PLC work) and lag measures (state proficiency assessments and benchmark results) to monitor progress toward the May 2027 goal that “state district literacy assessment proficiency will increase to at least 80% at each grade level.”
The district plans stakeholder input through teacher, family and student surveys and will rely on building leadership teams and curriculum review committees to recommend materials. The presenter cautioned that curriculum adoption is heavy lift and said they do not want the plan “to just live on Google Drive,” noting the need to integrate it into professional development and building plans.
Next steps: the presenter said the secondary portion of the literacy plan is expected to be finalized in January and that the district will bring eventual material recommendations to the board for approval.
