March 19, 2024

*NEW* District LETRS Facilitator Application Now Open 

District LETRS Facilitators will play a crucial role in facilitating LETRS sessions and guaranteeing the long-term viability of your district's LETRS instructional application as you go through the professional learning and welcome new cohorts of teachers, both new to teaching and new to your district.

Applicants must meet specific requirements in order to be eligible to apply to be a District LETRS Facilitator, including having at least 80% of the district's K–3 educators participating in LETRS and applicants receiving a score of 88% or above on the posttest. Those accepted are expected to complete a four-day training session in the fall of 2024. 

Individuals who are interested in applying to become a District LETRS Facilitator should view the complete list of requirements within the application. 

 The application closes May 31, 2024.

Reminder: New Resources to Support Curriculum Implementation Now Available 

The Model Curriculum Framework (MCF), per KRS 158.6451, provides guidance for districts and schools in implementing educational best practice to enhance curricular coherence at the local level in order to positively impact student outcomes. The framework supports leaders in aligning their local curriculum, instructional resources, assessments and evidenced-based instructional practices with the Kentucky Academic Standards. 

The first section of the MCF, the Curriculum Development Process, provides guidance to districts and schools in: 

• Articulating an instructional vision for teaching and learning in a content area; 
• Selecting high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) aligned to the vision to support development of a local curriculum; and 
• Implementing and monitoring the curriculum over time.  

To further support effective curriculum implementation, which research shows is essential for a local curriculum and its HQIR(s) to support high-quality instruction and improve student outcomes, the Kentucky Department of Education has released two new resources: 

• The Curriculum Implementation Framework provides a detailed roadmap of key responsibilities by role group for the three stages of curriculum implementation (launch, early, ongoing). 
• The Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance Document defines curriculum-based professional learning and describes the learning to occur across the three stages of implementation, with tools specific to each to support.  

Within the Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance document, two NEW essential resources are available to assist districts and schools in enhancing literacy instructional practices. The associated Learning Walk Protocol can be used in conjunction with the Instructional Practice Guides to focus conversations and feedback.  

• Early Implementation Observation Tool for Reading and Writing:  Focuses educators on the most important high-level aspects, or look fors, during the launch and early stages of curriculum implementation.
•  K-12 Comprehension in Reading/Writing Instructional Practice Guide: Empowers educators to enhance their instructional practices in reading and writing across all grade levels, ensuring a seamless transition from foundational literacy to advanced comprehension skills. 
• K-3 Foundational Literacy Instructional Practice Guide: Concentrates on the critical formative years of a child's education, providing educators with a roadmap for effective instruction in early literacy essentials. 

Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference Date Announced

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) Division of Early Literacy invites you to the first annual Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference on June 20, 2024 at the Central Bank Center, formerly the Lexington Convention Center.

Keynote speaker and educational journalist Emily Hanford, host of the Sold a Story podcast – the second-most-shared show on Apple Podcasts in 2023 and one of Time magazine’s top three podcasts of the year – has been covering education for American Public Media since 2008. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the EWA Public Service Award in 2019 for Hard Words and the 2017 Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award from the American Educational Research Association.

The conference will require registration, but is FREE to Kentucky K-12 public educators and will offer focused learning pathways to meet the needs of teachers and administrators. Attendees will learn from KDE OTL consultants and partners about:

• Evidence-based instructional shifts for literacy;
• The benefits of structured literacy;
• Why high-quality instructional resources matter; and 
• Available resources for implementing the Read to Succeed Act.

Mark your calendar for this June 20 event. Registration information will be coming soon.

Early Literacy Newsletter Archive

Did you miss last week's Early Literacy Newsletter? You can access all previous editions of the newsletter on the Early Literacy webpage.

Quick Links

KDE Early Literacy 

KyMTSS.org

Reading and Writing Instructional Resources Consumer Guide

Key Actions for Meeting the Needs of ALL K-3 Readers and Writers

Read to Succeed KRS 158.305 Implementation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document

Reading Improvement Plan Template 

“Read At Home Plan Family Guide"

Spanish version of the "Read at Home Plan Family Guide"

Key Actions for Meeting the Needs of ALL K-3 Readers and Writers Now Available!

According to KRS 158.791 Section 1(1), a primary goal of Kentucky’s Read to Succeed Act is to ensure "all children learn to read well before exiting grade three (3).” The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has identified four key teacher actions to move from ineffective practices to evidence-based structured literacy practices. 

Key Actions for Meeting the Needs of ALL K-3 Readers and Writers points out misconceptions associated with ineffective literacy practices and provides explanations for what we now know about evidence-based practices in early literacy. These practices are critical to meeting the needs of all K-3 readers and writers and can be accomplished through these key actions:

• Key Action #1: Provide explicit, systematic instruction in foundational skills to every child. 
• Key Action #2: Build comprehension by engaging all students in discussion of complex, knowledge-rich text sets.
• Key Action #3: Use small-group reading time to target foundational skills or to develop comprehension using complex text.
• Key Action #4: Provide instructional time to address all five components of reading.

Division of Early Literacy Virtual Office Hours

If you’re an administrator who has questions about early literacy or the Read to Succeed Act, join members of the Division of Early Literacy for virtual office hours. Topics of discussion may include, but are not limited to:

• Progress of teachers enrolled in LETRS training;
• Next steps in your journey with LETRS planning and implementation;
• Available early literacy resources; and/or 
• Support around high quality instructional resources.

March 26, 2024, 9:30-11:00 a.m. ET

April 24, 2024, 9:30-11:00 a.m. ET

May 8, 2024, 9:30-11:00 a.m. ET

Join on your computer or mobile device.

Click here to join the meeting.

ICYMI: Division of Early Literacy Spotlight Series 

The Division of Early Literacy spotlighted their five state regional literacy directors over the past five weeks. If you missed this spotlight series, read the February 6, February 13, February 20, February 27 and March 5 editions.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For questions about Early Literacy, please email KDE Director of Early Literacy Christie Biggerstaff.