December 10, 2024

Celebrations & Bright Spots

Knox County First Grade Teacher Develops Love for Teaching Reading

First grade teacher Presley Peyton Stuber at Flat Lick Elementary School in Knox County is in her fifth year of teaching. This year is her second year teaching first grade and first time teaching from a high-quality instructional resource (HQIR) for reading and writing. When asked to explain what she is loving about teaching reading this year, she talked about strong student engagement and how her students are interested in the texts the HQIR provides. “I like that my students are getting the opportunity to ‘travel to’ and explore places they may never have the chance to see.”

Prior to implementing the HQIR, Stuber was not as confident or excited about teaching reading. However, now, reading has become her favorite subject to teach. In her words, “I could teach reading all day!” She says her students are eager to learn because they know they are going to gain more information from reading every day - that’s how their HQIR works.

Knox County is in the early stages of implementation for their adopted HQIR aligned to KRS 158.305. The district adopted a knowledge building and comprehensive Tier 1 reading and writing program, meaning the resource includes comprehension instruction as well as foundational skills instruction. Comprehensive programs address the language comprehension and word recognition portions of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Learn more about Scarborough’s Reading Rope and structured literacy on the KDE’s Structured Literacy webpage.

Supporting Quarterly Step-backs for HQIR Implementation

As schools close out the second quarter of the school year, it is a good time to pause, reflect and determine next steps. Quarterly step-backs are designed to support district and school leadership teams as they examine progress towards their high-quality instructional resource (HQIR) implementation goals, identify key successes, learn from and solve significant challenges and make adjustments for the next quarter. These more formal step-backs typically include:  

• Preparing and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data as outlined in the monitoring plan aligned to the district’s implementation goals;  

• Reflecting on progress and challenges;  

• Identifying 2-3 areas of improvement;  

• Adjusting the implementation plan and revising roles and responsibilities according to areas of improvement; and 

• Communicating changes and celebrating successes with stakeholders.

The following KDE tools are designed to support districts in conducting a quarterly step-back: 

• Sample Quarterly Step-back Data Gathering Tool – provides a template for organizing data and feedback for quarterly step-backs. 

• Quarterly Step-back Agenda – provides goals and a sample agenda for a Quarterly Step-back Meeting. 

• Curriculum Implementation Framework  – outlines key responsibilities broken down by role group for each stage of curriculum implementation.

ICYMI: Kentucky Awarded the Federal 2024 Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Kentucky a five-year, $54.9 million Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant to enhance literacy skills across the state. Renamed Kentucky Comprehensive Literacy 2025 (KyCL 25), the program will provide competitive funding to districts, focusing on underserved students, including those in poverty, English learners, and students with disabilities. This funding aims to improve literacy through high-quality instructional resources and curriculum based professional learning for all levels. 

To learn more about the grant and the application process, read the full article here. 

Don't Miss the Early Literacy Newsletter

Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up to receive the Early Literacy Newsletter each week.

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

Winter break is coming! Encourage families to check out these family literacy resources over the holidays:

Read at Home Plan Family Guide in English or Spanish aligns to the needs of K-4 students receiving accelerated interventions as identified in their Reading Improvement Plans and ideal for families interested in learning more about incorporating early literacy into their homes.  

Standards Family Guides help families familiarize themselves with the content of each grade level’s standards.  

National Center for Families Learning: Family Resources with Wonderopolis webinar provides information about their FREE web program that allows students to explore their wonders and build knowledge to support literacy development.

Quick Links

Literacy At a Glance Collection

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

Why the Three-Cueing Model Hinders Reading Proficiency

Reading and Writing Unit Internalization Protocol

Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance Document 

Reading Improvement Plan Template

Read at Home Plan Family Guide (English)

Read at Home Plan Family Guide (Spanish)

Read to Succeed Act Implementation FAQ

Have questions? Need clarification about the Reading Improvement Plan, Read at Home Plan Family Guide, HQIR Internalization Protocol or Evidence-Based Structured Literacy Practices?

Join the DEL virtual office hours or contact one of our regional literacy directors: 

DEL Virtual Office Hours:

9:30 to 11 a.m. ET.

TODAY, December 10

Regional Literacy Directors:

WKEC/GRREC: Alison Gregory

OVEC/JCPS: Tara Griffith

CKEC/SESC: Whitney Hamilton

KVEC/SESC: Marcia Ward

NKCES/KEDC: Amelia Powers

CONTACT INFORMATION

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