Successful readers are built from quality core instruction as well as through tiered support.  However, as teachers it can be challenging to know next steps to take for students who are struggling. Have you ever had a student struggle in areas of early literacy, but not know how to support them? Have you ever been unsure which intervention to implement in your classroom? Do you wonder how to make data-driven decisions? PRESS is a program that can help with these challenges that elementary literacy teachers face.

What is PRESS?

PRESS stands for Path to Reading Excellence in School Sites.  “PRESS offers a research base for multi-tiered systems of support in elementary reading” (PRESS, 2016).

Here is a brief introductory video that explains what PRESS is: 

How Did PRESS Get Started? 

PRESS was born out of a partnership between the Minnesota Center for Reading Research, Minnesota Reading Corps, and the Target Corporation. In 2014, after completion of a successful pilot, PRESS began providing professional development and resources to elementary schools in the Midwest. 

Why PRESS?

PRESS supports teachers in analyzing data and making instructional decisions, implementing reading interventions, and providing quality core instruction.  It is not a curriculum, rather it can be used with a variety of literacy curriculums and assessment systems.  

This infographic shows the 4 Pillars of PRESS

PRESS outlines interventions in these areas of literacy:

• phonemic awareness
• phonics
• fluency
• comprehension
• vocabulary

My Experience With PRESS

This is my second school year implementing PRESS into my classroom.  I have seen the power when PRESS is used as a school-wide initiative.  My school received training in PRESS, and I have been able to use it to improve my intervention and instruction in the areas of early literacy.  

PRESS has assisted me in: 

• Learning to analyze whole class data and determine if a whole class intervention is needed, or if just a small group of students need the intervention. 
• Use decoding inventories to determine what phonics intervention students can benefit from.
• Using progress monitoring data to report progress during an intervention. 
• Increasing my repertoire of phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency interventions.

Through my school’s implementation of PRESS, I have gained membership to the PRESS community.  This allows me to print word lists, assessments, progress monitoring lists, and access tools and videos.  It is helpful to see videos of each intervention in action alongside reading the instructions in my teaching manual. 

PRESS has been a wonderful resource at my school to promote literacy success for all students.  It is so important to have tools and support in instructing students in the classroom, as well as smaller groups of students in tiers 2 and 3.  

Have you heard of PRESS? 

What system does your school use to support students getting additional tiered support in the area of literacy? 

Resources:

presscommunity.org

Schools and districts strive to have effective and comprehensive literacy programs.  However there are many aspects to consider when planning out a program in regards to both teachers and students.  Creating an effective literacy plan, while time consuming, is a great way to establish a focus for the literacy program.    

A creating of a literacy plan often begins with the drafting of a vision statement.  Having a vision statement, helps to share with parents, families, students, and the community what the literacy goals of the school or district are.  

Local literacy plans should be visible to all in the community and are often easily found a school’s website or searched for by typing in a school’s name followed by “literacy plan.” I encourage you to look up and read some local literacy plans for schools in your area.  These can help you get to know the school or district better. 

A core focus of an effective literacy plan is on the specific curriculum and strategies being utilized.  The ultimate goal of a literacy plan is student achievement (Irvin, Meltzer, & Dukes, 2007).  Therefore, when writing various components of a literacy plan, one can ask the following question: How does this positively impact student achievement? 

There are 5 essential components to an effective literacy plan, as described in Chapter 5 of Taking Action on Adolescent Literacy (Irvin, Meltzer, & Dukes, 2007):  

1. Strengthening literacy development across the content areas 
2. Literacy interventions for struggling readers and writers
3. School policies, structures, and culture for supporting literacy 
4. Building leadership capacity
5. Supporting teachers to improve instruction 

The authors point out that these 5 areas cover various aspects of literacy within a school, and it is clear how each impacts student achievement.  Within a local literacy plan, there needs to be a focus on students, teachers, leadership, and families/community.  These five components address things such as curriculum being utilized, intervention plans in place, literacy assessments and data being collected on students, professional development supports for teachers, and often specific literacy goals outlined for a school or district. 

Minnesota literacy plans specifically address Minnesota Statute 120B.12, which states that “The legislature seeks to have every child reading at or above grade level no later than the end of grade 3, including English learners, and that teachers provide comprehensive, scientifically based reading instruction.”  Literacy plans outline the comprehensive, scientifically based reading instruction they are providing as well as how they communicate with families if their child is not reading at grade level.  Some schools even include a letter that they use to communicate this with families. 

When a school or district is determining specific literacy goals for their literacy plan, there are many factors to consider:

• What does our current data say on student literacy achievement?  Where are there opportunities for growth? 

• What school resources or policies are either limiting or encouraging literacy growth? 

• What teaching practices currently in place encourage literacy? 

• What do teachers need? Do we have survey data on their professional development needs? 

• How can our literacy leaders support our literacy goals? 

In conclusion, it is important to note that although a literacy plan can incorporate all of these essential components and be very well written, if action is not taken, then there is no real purpose.  Although state legislation may require a local literacy plan be written, they should not just be written for the state.  They need to be written for the school and made personable so that they encourage actual implementation and action.  Literacy plans should be written in ways that make them actionable and the progress measurable.  They should encourage literacy growth within a school or district. Effective plans do need to be communicated and should not be kept secret or only known to a small group of literacy leaders.  Support from teachers is crucial in a successful literacy plan, so they must feel that they have been aware of and involved in the process of its creation and implementation (Irvin, Meltzer, & Dukes, 2007). 

Here is a helpful link to the Minnesota Department of Education website on local literacy plan development. 

References: 

Irvin, J.L., Meltzer, J., & Dukes, M.S. (2007). Chapter 5: Develop and     implement a schoolwide literacy action plan. In Taking action on adolescent literacy. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/ books/107034/chapters/Develop-and-Implement-a-Schoolwide- Literacy-Action-Plan.aspx

Federal Legislation

In 2015, No Child Left Behind was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) when signed into law by President Obama.  This act focuses on preparing all students for college and career.  Each state has flexibility in how they will create these paths to success and must submit their plan to the U.S. Department of Education.   

Here are a few main components of this act and the impact they have on schools: 

• Each State has the ability to set their own rigorous academic standards.  Additionally, each state has tests administered to measure students’ achievement agains those standards.
• Information about students’ achievements against these standards on state assessments is communicated annually with families and the community.  This information can be viewed State and Local Report Cards.  Here is a helpful guide for parents on how to interpret the information presented on these report cards. 
• Focuses on accountability for lowest performing schools, schools with low graduation rates, and where specific subsets of students are not making progress. There is also a focus on action to change and improve performance through improvement plans for schools. 

Here is a link to view each individual State’s ESSA Plan.

State Legislation 

Along with federal legislation, states also have statutes that impact instruction.  Minnesota statute 120B.12 states that “The legislature seeks to have every child reading at or above grade level no later than the end of grade 3, including English learners, and that teachers provide comprehensive, scientifically based reading instruction.”  There are subdivisions within this statute that outline identification of students, parent involvement, intervention, staff development, and local literacy plans. 

• Every school district must identify kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students that are reading below grade level at the end of every school year.  Students in grade 3 or above and have a reading difficulty are included in the report as well. 
• Annual communication to parents about a students’ reading proficiency, reading-related services, as well as strategies for parents to use at home to support learning at school is required for students not reading at or above grade level. 
• Districts must provide reading intervention to those students reading below grade level and continue to provide intervention services after grade 3 if the student does not reach grade level by the end of that year. 
• Districts must use data on student reading achievement to identify specific staff development needs. This includes training in scientifically-based reading instruction, culturally responsive instruction, and English Learners. 
• Every district must have a local literacy plan that outlines how they will have every child reading at or above grade level by the end of 3rd grade. 
• In 2018, there is a new requirement for districts to report the number of students who have been screened or identified for dyslexia or convergence insufficiency disorder, which is a vision disorder in which the eyes turn inward.  A challenge in this requirement is that schools do not have the tools currently to test for dyslexia.  It will be interesting to see what this new legislation leads to in the realm of education. 

Legislation has a definite impact on literacy learning at both the federal and state levels. Unfortunately there are many students who are not “reading well” by 3rd grade, and I am not sure that requiring districts to report this information is changing the narrative at all.  There are other changes that will need to take place to ensure reading success by this critical age. 

Here is a short video clip by the Children’s Literacy Initiative discussing improving literacy rates that I encourage you to watch. 

References: 

[Children’s Literacy Initiative]. (2014, September 11).  Children’s literacy initiative: Improving literacy rates Retrieved from: https://cli.org/2014/09/11/why-reading-why-third-grade-why-cli/

ed.gov. (2018, November). A parent guide to state and local report cards [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/index.html

Minnesota Department of Education. (2018). Frequently asked questions: Read well data and plan submission [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/datasub/ReadK3/

Officer of the Revisor of Statutes. (2018). 2018 Minnesota Statutes. Retrieved from https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/120B.12

U.S. Department of Education. Every students succeeds act (ESSA). Retrieved from https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=policy

The focal point of assessment should be to inform teaching and learning, when it is done effectively.  There are many types of assessment, and they all can help inform instruction in various ways; some more meaningful than others. There are state-mandated tests, screening assessments, progress monitoring assessments, and formative and summative assessments to name a few. 

Screening assessments that are used at the start of the school year, mid year, and at the end of the year can provide meaningful data in various aspects of literacy and show the amount of growth a student is making.  These assessments are often used to determine students that are in need of Title 1 support or reading intervention services.  These screening assessments often measure against a grade-level standard, as well as peers, and give teachers a general assessment of their students’ abilities and literacy needs.  Data from screening assessments is helpful in guiding conversations between teachers and additional literacy support teachers, as the school strives to meet the needs of all students in a grade level.  

Students initially screened and identified as possibly needing additional literacy support can be assessed further with more specific, diagnostic assessments (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019).  These can measure specific areas that a student is struggling with and provide meaningful data for small group instruction. Teachers can group students with common needs and ability levels to provide instruction at their point of need.  The data gained from these assessments should be used to plan specific instruction. 

Additionally, data gained from screening and diagnostic assessments are often the first step in beginning a conversation with families regarding any concerns a teacher may have about a student’s literacy achievement.  Sharing this data with parents helps them understand their child’s literacy needs and involves them in the process of their child’s instructional plan.  Parents need to know how they can support their child’s learning and what their child will be working on at school.  The process of placing a child in a reading intervention group or to receive Title 1 services, does not just involve the classroom teacher and literacy leaders at the school.  Families need to be involved as well, as they have important information that they can share about their child’s needs and learning.  

This leads me to discuss contextualized assessment.  This is defined as using “in-classroom activities and processes generated during contextualized learning as formative assessment” (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019, p. 109).  Not only does a students’ current instructional context play a role in their literacy development, but as does their background.  Assessment that takes into account a students’ home, background, prior experiences, and culture is valuable; contextualized assessment does just that (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019).  Parents have an important role to play in this regard.  Surveys in which parents have opportunities to share about their child’s learning style and culture are valuable. 

Contextualized assessment reminds us that other types of assessment such as student work, interviews, and observation are also valid assessments that provide meaningful data when making instructional decisions (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019).  Embedded assessment is that which takes place daily in the classroom and “provides rich information that directly informs students’ instructional needs and modifications” (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019, p.111).  Collaboration, observation, and assessment data all play a role in establishing an instructional plan for a student (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019).  Teachers cannot just focus on screening or diagnostic data.  Continued research is showing that literacy behaviors are complex and change based on the context of the situation.  Therefore, our assessments should strive to measure these complexities (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019). 

In summation, as teachers it is our job to notice when an instructional strategy in the classroom or first approach to intervention isn’t working and to try again to search for a more appropriate context for that student (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019).  Progress monitoring assessments are helpful in determining if an intervention is working or not for a particular student  (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019).  Teachers and literacy leaders can then make adjustments for that student.  It is important to remember that contexts can be as simple as changing the group size or more drastic such as changing a strategy entirely.  Every student deserves a context in which they can learn.    

References:

Shearer, B.A., Carr, D.B., & Vogt, M. (2019).  Reading specialists and literacy coaches in the real world (4th ed). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press

How do you develop a diverse classroom library?  

I strongly believe that classroom libraries should be diverse to meet the reading interests of all students!  Not only does this mean diverse in regards to culture, but also diverse in genre, author, characters, theme, reading level, interest level, and type of text.

The books in our classroom libraries should reflect our students’ cultures, backgrounds, families, experiences, and community.  Rudine Sims Bishop refers to these types of books as “mirrors,” as students are able to see themselves in these books.  However, it is just as important to have books that are “windows,” as they allow students to see something other than themselves or their own experiences.  Books that are “sliding glass doors” take it a step further and allow students to “enter” that world.  

Please take a moment to watch this brief video clip of an interview, with Rudine Sims Bishop, on the importance of diverse books.  

It can be powerful to analyze your classroom library and think about the windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for each individual student in your classroom.  In which of those categories do you need more books in your classroom library? It is important to note that having a bin in your classroom library labeled “cultures around the world,” does not automatically make your classroom library culturally diverse.  

A great resource for diversifying your classroom library is the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books.  This organization has a website and also partners with Scholastic Book Clubs to create a catalog for ordering books.  Many teachers utilize Scholastic Book Clubs to promote reading and new books to their students and their families. This catalog is created a couple of times a year for both younger and older students.  There is a large variety of books that are diverse in numerous ways.  It is a great resource in staying current on new picture books and chapter books that are diverse.  

As an ending thought, we often forget or don’t realize that our classroom libraries express what we value and think is important as teachers. What message does your classroom library send your students?  What messages are you unintentionally sending? How do you locate diverse books to show that you value diversity and providing “windows” and “mirrors” experiences for all your students? Share your thoughts and diverse books resources below! 

References: 

[Reading Rockets]. (2015, January 30). Mirrors, windows, and sliding doors . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AAu58SNSyc