Takeaways and Solutions Dyslexia Audit Takeaways and Solutions Chandle Carpenter 447-1060 Chandle.carpenter@lrsd.org

Screening Concerns Solution: parental consent to exit form. Solution: Schools need further training on screening, placement, and RTI. Schools are not actively screening students for placement in intervention, especially from 3-12th grade and do not seem to understand the RTI process Solution: parental consent to exit form. Elementary schools are collecting screening data, but put more emphasis on Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and summative data. have developed a parental consent to exit dyslexia intervention form (this is currently on our website at www.lrsd.org/dyslexia) that provides specific criteria that should be met, recommends not using the DRA to exit students, and requires parental consent. Students who exit dyslexia intervention should be monitored for at least one year in case they begin to struggle and need to be placed back in intervention.

Screening Concerns continued The screening process needs to be adjusted to use Dibels for all 3 assessment periods for each grade, or we need to utilize our NWEA foundational skills data (this is an alternative to Dibels in the law) Kindergarteners are not screened until January and only receive intervention if there is room. ). We already give the NWEA multiple times a year, and it provides a lot of great data that we could use instead of dibels. I also think we could turn on the foundational piece for older elementary students because we often confuse poor decoding with poor comprehension in these students. Kindergarten is critical: We can remediate a kindergarten student in 30 minutes a day. It takes 2 hours a day to remediate a 4th grader.

Intervention Concerns Solution: Follow screening protocol to determine all students who are exhibiting characteristics and then develop a process for requesting staffing support. Students should not be exited based on DRA results and any student who is exhibiting characteristics of dyslexia should be getting support. Elementary schools are in triage mode and serve only the most needy. When students are identified, there is no indication of how far behind the student is and a sense of urgency for remediation was not observed. Reading teachers are seeing as many students as possible, and exiting students when more needy students arrive. They are not able to pull all students who score at risk or some risk to screen and provide intervention and maintain fidelity, or increase intensity and duration. I have developed a parental consent to exit dyslexia intervention form (this is currently on our website at www.lrsd.org/dyslexia) that provides specific criteria that should be met, recommends not using the DRA to exit students, and requires parental consent. Students who exit dyslexia intervention should be monitored for at least one year in case they begin to struggle and need to be placed back in intervention.

Intervention Concerns continued Solutions: I have started with the schools with the most students who are already tagged, and have tried to create a system that will work for the remainder of this year until we can put more sections on the master schedules. Screening at the middle and high school level is challenging. Tier 1 and Tier 2 word reading supports are needed and we are looking at solutions. Many faculty are trained, but few actually have time allocated in the daily schedule to provide interventions. Middle school does not have an effective dyslexia program or plan to serve identified students. High school dyslexia services are virtually non-existent. until we can put more courses on the master schedules, and train interventionists in our new program. I either have had meetings, have scheduled meetings, or am waiting to hear back from every middle and high school. Decoding instruction is not occurring in middle and high core instruction, because it is not on the curriculum map, nor is it typical for middle and high schools to teach reading at the decoding level. The overwhelming majority of students in our middle and high schools are below grade level. We need an innovative way to provide word level reading instruction into tier 1 instruction, add tier 2 instruction for word reading, and we will be able to make better decisions about who needs tier 3 dyslexia intervention. We have a reading emergency in secondary, and the screening process for dyslexia, specifically is likely to over identify students for tier 3, because we currently don't have decoding instruction for tier 1 or tier 2. We need to be able to help all students improve their reading, including those with dyslexia. Support is needed in this area.

Communication Concerns Solution: Physical and Digital Tracking System There is a lack of communication about students transitioning from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school. In the past, we sent out a survey to dyslexia intervention providers in May to provide the name, ID, and grade level of any student who received intervention during the school year. We also need to collect screening information to make sure we are following all protocols. Many students are receiving intervention, but the proper process was not documented. We have ordered orange folders and I am creating a system (similar to what we use for EL students) to document screening, progress monitoring, and important forms. If a student moves to a different school before May, he or she may get lost in the shuffle. I have created a change form for placement and tracking information. I am working with Dr. Mitchell, Kevin Crawford, and Dr. McCaroll to develop a cumulative form that will house screening information and follow students from school to school.

Parent involvement concerns Solution: Parent Packet with new forms and protocols Parent notification did not include results A parent packet has been completed It is currently posted on the website Include screening results and required resources when contacting parents. We have to involve the parents every time a student shows any risk on any screener. We have a new parent interview where a teacher can notify the parent of the results of an initial screener, complete the interview with the parent, and get verbal consent for a Level 1 screener. It is posted on the website as well

Clear procedures for referral, screening, and placement Professional Development is already occurring at various school visits, PLCs, and staff meetings. The website has been updated with the most current information and forms A separate google drive with resources was created and sent out to LRSD reading interventionists Staff were unsure about procedures for screening, referral, and intervention services Vicki King is going to provide school based teams training for LRSD school psychologists and literacy lead teachers between on March 13th See action plan for school visits Flow charts, emails, and presentations at schools, principals’ meetings, and with literacy facilitators should improve this. Forms have been posted on www.lrsd.org/dyslexia. I have also created a separate google drive at lrsddyslexia@gmail.com with the most up to date forms. The first School based team training is scheduled for March 13th and will include school psychologist and literacy lead teachers. Professional Development is already occurring at various school PLCs, school visits, and staff meetings.