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Kent City Schools

Every child, every chance, every day.

KCS Literacy Plan

Literacy in the Kent City Schools

THE KENT CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT’S VISION FOR LITERACY IS FOR ALL LEARNERS TO ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO BE SUCCESSFUL READERS AT OR ABOVE THEIR GRADE LEVEL, ENABLING THEM TO ACCESS INFORMATION AS INDEPENDENT CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKERS, AS WELL AS TO BE COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATORS AND PROBLEM SOLVERS IN OUR GLOBAL SOCIETY.
Kent City Schools Vision for Literacy

To achieve this vision, the Kent City Schools commit to:

  1. Use the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) to drive all literacy content discourse, development, and organization of resources necessary to support the district’s vision for literacy (More information on the Simple View of Reading & Science of Reading);

  2. Align data analysis and decision-making teams to strengthen the district’s PK-12 framework for shared leadership in literacy instruction;

  3. Support educators with the selection and implementation of evidence-based systems and instructional practices to increase learner achievement across all content areas and age levels;

  4. Ensure all learners are represented and supported throughout the language and literacy development continuum (emergent literacy, early literacy, conventional literacy, and adolescent literacy), provide specific recommendations and evidence-based interventions, and monitor the progress of struggling readers (Learn about Kent's K-5 Literacy Model and Resources); and

  5. Enhance family and community partnerships and collaboration of general and special education practitioners and stakeholders.  

Each Spring a team of stakeholders convenes to revise the district Local Literacy Plan to improve literacy instruction and student achievement district-wide.

The Local Literacy Plan describes how the district will accomplish these four interrelated goals:

  1. Develop a systemic structure that supports shared analysis, decision-making, and leadership (at each level as well as vertically) to facilitate meaningful discourse regarding data sources and their use, curriculum and instruction alignment, selection of evidence-based instructional resources, strategies, and interventions, and mechanisms for monitoring a Local Literacy Plan.

  2. Universally implement an evidence-based core language and literacy plan that incorporates the Simple View of Reading and the Simple View of Adolescent Reading as a foundation for interventions within a multi-tiered system of support.

  3.  Identify systematic and explicit evidence-based  interventions to embed into a multi-tiered system of supports that align with core instruction and reflect student needs, and ensure they are implemented with fidelity.

  4. Build capacity for effective universal literacy instruction in all educators through targeted, ongoing, embedded, and collaborative professional learning experiences.