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FLORIDA EDUCATION FINANCE PROGRAM

DISTRICT K-12 COMPREHENSIVE READING PLANS, 2006-07

As you begin to prepare for the 2006-07 school year, the following guidance in the

implementation of your district K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plan is provided for your

consideration. The options presented are a result of working with districts and with the

Florida Organization of Instructional Leadership (FOIL) members, and should help in the

second year of implementation of your comprehensive plans. Please note that these are

options

, and a district may choose not to take advantage of any or all options. For

example, although the DOE is not requiring all principals and coaches to attend the

summer Leadership Conference, the district may opt to make this attendance mandatory.

Also, districts serving all Level 1 and 2 middle and high school students in intensive

reading classes that are improving student achievement may choose to stay with their

current model rather than availing themselves of the options discussed later in this

document.

PROCESS

The 2005-06 district K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plans are posted at

www.justreadflorida.com. In March districts will begin the process of submitting any

revisions via this website. (Further information on this process will be emailed in the

near future.)

The current 2005-06 approved plan is the template for your 2006-07

revisions and will not have to be re-written in its entirety. Only revisions to the

narrative and charts will need to be submitted by the district for review.

You will

not submit your 06-07 charts for B, E, and H until after the upcoming school year begins.

All revisions must be received no later than May 1, 2006, to ensure timely release of

FEFP funds July 1, 2006.

GENERAL REMINDERS

•

Districts must ensure that all stakeholders are represented in the crafting of the

plan. This may include, but is not limited to: special education, elective areas,

and career and technical education.

•

Districts will ensure and document that all charter, alternative, and DJJ schools

are notified about participation in the K-12 Comprehensive Reading Plan, and

facilitate their involvement.

•

Charter schools are public schools and must have the opportunity to be included

in the district’s K-12 Comprehensive Plan for Reading. As with any school in the

district,

charter schools will not receive a set amount based upon their student

enrollment, but will be subject to the district prioritization of need to which

all schools in the district are subject.

•

The district must maintain evidence that the charter school was informed about

participation in the K-12 Comprehensive Plan for Reading. If the charter school

chooses not to participate, the district must keep on file documentation that the

charter school was informed by the district, but chose not to participate. If the

charter school declines to participate, the funds that would have been directed to

them remain in the district to serve low performing schools. The district will be

responsible for monitoring the charter school’s implementation of the K-12

Comprehensive Plan for Reading, and participating charter schools must agree to

the district monitoring in order to participate in the district plan.

•

The reading initiatives in charter schools need not look identical to those in other

district schools, but they must align their reading initiatives to the Just Read,

Florida! K-12 Comprehensive Plan for Reading Guidance document. For

example, if an entire school district uses one core program in its elementary

schools, and the elementary charter school chooses to use another state adopted

core program, this is acceptable.

LEADERSHIP

Options

•

Although not a requirement, districts should encourage principals and

reading/literacy coaches to attend the summer Leadership Conference, July 10-12,

2006. The only exception is for

Reading First

coaches, who are required to attend

as a condition of the district grant. This year there will be a $100.00/person

registration fee for the conference, which may be paid for with FEFP dollars.

Further information will follow on the logistics of this payment process.

Note: Remember that this year’s Leadership Conference will combine both the principals

and the reading/literacy coaches training. Priority will be given to principal and coach

teams from each school as stated in our November 1, 2005, memo in the following order:

First Priority:

A team consisting of a Principal and a Reading/literacy coach

Second Priority:

A team consisting of an Assistant Principal and a Reading/literacy

coach

Third Priority:

Principal or Assistant Principal

Fourth Priority:

Reading/literacy coach

Registration will go live March 15, 2006.

Reading First

coaches will be given priority

for registration as will the

Reading First

Principal or Assistant Principal comprising the

team for that

Reading First

school. On-line Registration will be accessible at

www.justreadflorida.com/conference. All principals and coaches will receive more detail

about the registration process prior to March 15, 2006. Selected district staff will also be

eligible to attend the conference, and more information about that process will be sent in

the near future.

As a Reminder:

•

Districts must submit a mid-year report on January 15, 2007. This report will

consist of an update to charts B, E, and H, detailing the progress of teachers

toward the reading endorsement, and information on numbers of coaches.

•

To be highly effective, reading/literacy coaches need a district-provided support

system. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways. Some examples include

monthly coaching cadre meetings, monthly professional development relevant to

the needs of coaches, monthly professional study groups, etc. Please describe the

district’s support system for reading/literacy coaches.

•

All reading/literacy coaches, regardless of how they are funded, will report their

time every two weeks using the online coach log through the PMRN.

*Note: The majority of the reading/literacy coach’s time should be spent in

classrooms modeling and coaching with teachers. Little, if any, time should

be spent administering student assessments or entering student performance

data.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Option

•

Provide the district reading professional development schedule for 2006-07,

describing in detail the menu of options and who will attend, as opposed to the

entire schedule (for other content areas) for professional development. The

district reading professional development should be displayed in Charts A1, A2,

and A3.

As a Reminder

•

Districts must provide substantial and ongoing professional development on any

reading programs being used. It is acceptable for publishers to provide training

on their own product. These offerings should be reflected in the schedule.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL INSTRUCTION

Performance-based Options

•

All schools must implement a 90-minute uninterrupted block of reading

instruction. Schools may use this block to deliver instruction in all content areas

(social studies, science, humanities, health, research for reports, etc).

•

Elementary schools meeting ALL of the following criteria are not required to

implement a comprehensive core reading program:

•

A current school grade of an A or B,

•

Made AYP in reading,

•

90% of their students meeting high standards in reading (an FCAT score

of Level 3 or above).

Schools taking advantage of this flexibility must describe their plan for

reading instruction, including the intervention for those students reading

below grade level in grades K-5(6).

•

For students in grades four and five scoring Level 4 or 5 on FCAT reading,

districts should offer enrichment programs steeped in content that continue to

develop the child’s reading skills. These students are not required to receive

instruction from a comprehensive core reading program, nor are they required to

receive 90 minutes of reading instruction. Districts would still need to report the

reading instruction that will be provided to these students, including the time

allotted to reading instruction.

•

Schools may choose to progress monitor Level 1 and 2 students three times per

year instead of four times per year. This should include a Baseline, Midyear, and

End of the Year Assessment. Schools using the PMRN must continue to progress

monitor students four times per year, as the system is set up for that function.

SUMMER READING CAMPS

Options

•

Use of a comprehensive core reading program is no longer required. The use of a

comprehensive reading intervention program is sufficient for immediate intensive

reading instruction during the camp.

•

Diagnostic assessments may be given to students that are deficient in reading

prior to or during summer reading camp to provide insight on the child’s needs for

instruction.

•

Portfolio benchmark assessments (if applicable) do not need to occur every day –

once a week is adequate; however, districts may choose to administer portfolio

benchmark assessments daily. In that case, the assessments should occur no more

than 30 minutes of any camp day.

•

Media centers do not need to be open if the classroom library provides diverse

text.

•

Weekly progress monitoring (instead of daily) is adequate to monitor a student’s

growth and provide instruction according to data.

Plans are to be submitted via web at www.justreadflorida.com by February 17, 2006.

Districts can expect feedback no later than March 20, 2006.

MIDDLE SCHOOL INSTRUCTION

Performance-based Options

•

Level 1 and 2 students whose reading intervention needs are limited to the areas

of comprehension and vocabulary may be provided intervention

in any class

long as the teacher is highly qualified to teach reading or working towards that

status (pursuing the reading endorsement or reading certification).

In addition, there must be the assurance that the classroom infrastructure (class

size, materials, etc.) is adequate to implement the intervention class as described

in the “Intensive Reading” course description, which can be found at

http://data.fldoe.org/crsCode/68/Language%20Arts/Remedial/pdf/1000000.pdf.

This intervention course should include on a daily basis:

o

whole group explicit instruction

o

small group differentiated instruction

o

independent reading practice monitored by the teacher

o

infusion of SSS benchmarks specific to the subject area course in which

the intervention is being provided (biology, world history, etc.)

o

a focus on informational text at a ratio matching FCAT (70/30)

Note: Based on feedback from several groups of stakeholders, we are considering the

creation of a professional development package, pulled from the current reading

endorsement competencies and indicators, designed to provide the information that

content area teachers need to become proficient in teaching reading through their subject

areas. This content area training would be for teachers serving students who have less

intensive intervention needs – those students who do not struggle with decoding or

fluency. Content area teachers using this option would not be deemed highly qualified to

teach reading according to NCLB guidelines – nor would they need to be -- but they

would receive intensive professional development to ensure that they can confidently

teach reading in the content area setting. This professional development package is under

discussion, and would not be available before the 2007-08 school year; however, any

work done toward the full reading endorsement up to that point will count toward the

professional development package under consideration. More details will be

forthcoming.

•

Schools may block together a class of “Intensive Reading” with another subject

area class to create the extended time that many Level 1 and 2 students will need

for intervention (those who have intervention needs in the areas of decoding and

fluency). This block of time should be taught by the same teacher. This teacher

should be highly qualified to teach reading or working toward that status

(pursuing the reading endorsement or reading certification) and classroom

infrastructure (class size, materials, etc.) should be adequate to implement the

intervention class as described in the “Intensive Reading” course description,

which can be found at

http://data.fldoe.org/crsCode/68/Language%20Arts/Remedial/pdf/1000000.pdf.

This intervention course should include on a daily basis:

o

whole group explicit instruction

o

small group differentiated instruction

o

independent reading practice monitored by the teacher

o

infusion of SSS benchmarks specific to the subject area blocked with the

reading course (biology, world history, etc.)

o

a focus on informational text at a ratio matching FCAT (70/30)

•

Any course that requires reading endorsement or reading certification (as

determined by the course code directory) may be used to provide reading

intervention to Level 1 and Level 2 students.

•

Schools may choose to progress monitor Level 1 and 2 students three times per

year instead of four times per year. This should include a Baseline, Midyear, and

End of the Year Assessment. Schools using the PMRN must continue to progress

monitor students four times per year, as the system is set up for that function.

As a Reminder

•

Each struggling reader must be given the instruction that best fits his or her needs.

Districts must establish criteria beyond FCAT for placing students into different

levels of intensity for reading intervention classes. Examples include data from

screenings, progress monitoring and diagnostic assessments already in use in the

district, as well as teacher recommendation.

•

Districts must establish criteria for exiting students from reading intervention

classes based on data.

HIGH SCHOOL INSTRUCTION

Performance-based Options

•

Level 1 and 2 students whose reading intervention needs are limited to the areas

of comprehension and vocabulary may be provided intervention

in any class

long as the teacher is highly qualified to teach reading or working toward that

status (pursuing the reading endorsement or reading certification)

and the classroom infrastructure (class size, materials, etc.) is adequate to

implement the intervention class as described in the “Intensive Reading” course

description, which can be found at

http://data.fldoe.org/crsCode/912/Language%20Arts/Remedial/pdf/1000410.pdf.

This intervention course should include on a daily basis:

o

whole group explicit instruction

o

small group differentiated instruction

o

independent reading practice monitored by the teacher

o

infusion of SSS benchmarks specific to the subject area course in which

the intervention is being provided (biology, world history, etc.)

o