Horry County to require identified first graders to attend summer reading camp under Read to Succeed rollout

James Lapier, an elementary executive director for Horry County Schools, briefed the Curriculum & Instruction committee on Read to Succeed implementation and the district’s planned response for first graders not reading on grade level.

“Starting this school year, first grade students that are not at grade level must be invited to summer reading camp,” Lapier said, summarizing the state law. He added that Horry County Schools will require those identified students to attend the district summer reading camp rather than merely issuing invitations.

Lapier presented early first‑grade results the district used for identification: with a cut score of 146, 26 percent of first graders were below the 25th percentile on the district’s early measures. He said district coaches and instructional coaches are working with principals to develop school‑level plans to address those students, and that teacher professional development (LETRS and coaching) supports Tier 1 instruction.

The district compared this year’s retention/qualification projection to last year: Lapier said that last year 32 percent of students would have qualified for retention/summer camp by the same point, while this year 27 percent would qualify; after accounting for good‑cause exemptions the figure was 18 percent.

Board members asked whether the 26 percent figure included students with alternate assessments or English learners; Lapier said the percentage includes all students, including multilingual learners and students with learning exceptionalities. District staff said continuing tiered instruction, summer camps and after‑school reading would be used to reduce the percentage over time.

What happens next: principals will develop site plans for identified students, instructional coaches will provide targeted coaching and the district will monitor progress and return with updated data; no formal vote was taken at the meeting.