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District outlines multi-year early-literacy initiative tied to state law and grant funding
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Summary
District leaders described a multi-phase literacy project aligned with the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act: hiring an early-literacy coordinator, using learning-community and CLSD grants for staffing and materials, contracting with ICG for building reviews, expanding progress-monitoring tools, and holding family literacy nights.
Dr. Siri presented the district's multi-phase early-literacy project, describing it as a multi-year effort to strengthen English-language arts curriculum and ensure students achieve foundational reading skills. The initiative responds in part to the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act and district strategic goals.
Phase 1 added an early-literacy coordinator (Kelly Bell) to lead the project across pre-K through grade 12 and support kindergarten jump-start programs. Phase 2 introduced grant-funded positions including an attendance interventionist and literacy floater teachers trained in the science of reading to provide intervention and classroom continuity when teachers are absent. Phase 3 focused on resources and progress-monitoring software to track student gains; Phase 4 emphasized family engagement through literacy nights and high-school book clubs.
Dr. Siri said the district used ESSER and Learning Community funding to build a data dashboard and secured a CLSD (Comprehensive Literacy State Development) competitive grant to support family-literate events and professional development. The district contracted with ICG to conduct building-level literacy reviews and will reapply for grant renewals as federal opportunities open. Staff plan progress reports to the board and expect to present mid-year instructional-coach findings next school year.
Board members asked about how ICG's evaluation data will be used; Dr. Siri said results are systems-level and will inform instructional strategies rather than serve as teacher-level evaluations. The district intends to continue reapplying for grants and to present progress updates to the board.
