Reading/Language Arts Instruction

The Board of Education recognizes that reading and other language arts constitute the basic foundation for learning in other areas of study. Students should develop an appreciation for literature and for reading as a means to acquire knowledge. They also should develop oral and written language skills that enable them to effectively communicate with others. The Board desires to offer a comprehensive, balanced reading/language arts program that ensures all students have the skills necessary to read fluently and for meaning. The program shall integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities in order to build effective communication skills. For each grade level, the Board shall adopt academic standards in reading, speaking, and writing, including spelling and grammar, that meet or exceed state standards. The district's program also shall be aligned with the state framework for reading/language arts instruction. Teachers are encouraged to use a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate the varying needs of students. The Superintendent or designee shall provide professional development opportunities that are designed to provide instructional staff with knowledge about how students develop language skills, the ability to analyze students' developing literacy, and the ability to draw from a variety of instructional strategies and materials. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district's reading/language arts program offers sufficient access to textbooks and other instructional materials of varying levels of difficulty, including fiction and nonfiction works, so that students are continually reading at an appropriate level. In addition, technology should be available to support all areas of literacy. The Superintendent or designee shall regularly provide the Board with data from state and district reading assessments and program evaluations to enable the Board to monitor program effectiveness. Grades K-3 The goal of the district's early literacy program shall be to ensure that students are able to read fluently and at grade level by the end of third grade. To reach this goal, the Superintendent or designee shall design a balanced and comprehensive reading/language arts program with the following components: - Explicit skill development for beginning readers that includes phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding skills, and sufficient practice and repetition of these skills - A strong literature, language, and comprehension program that includes a balance of oral and written language - Ongoing diagnosis of students' skills - An early intervention program that provides assistance to students at risk of not meeting reading standards. Grades 4-8 The Board recognizes that reading/language arts instruction is an integral component of the curriculum at all grade levels. Continuous progress in fluency and comprehension shall be the goal of reading/language arts instruction in grades 4-8. The program in these grades shall promote reading for subject matter comprehension, developing understanding of progressively more advanced reading material, analyzing and discussing a variety of reading materials, increasing the frequency of reading, developing more complex writing skills with attention to composition and vocabulary, and developing other communications skills. When students in these grades do not have fully developed reading/language arts skills, the Superintendent or designee shall make resources available to assist them in reaching a reading level sufficient to meet the demands of grade-level material. Staff at all grade levels and in every subject shall take responsibility for supporting and expanding students' literacy skills. Supplementary Reading Instruction for Grades K-4 When state funding is available, the Board may offer students in grades K-4 increased instructional opportunities before or after school and/or outside the regular school session to assist those students who are experiencing difficulty learning to read and to increase the reading skills and reading enjoyment of all students.