Lexington School District 3 LITERACY INITIATIVE Goal: To improve reading fluency, reading comprehension and writing skills of all Lexington School District 3 students to the extent that the district ‘s reading and writing scores exceed state averages and national norms within three years. [PASS, MAP, HSAP] District-wide Strategies:  School instructional leaders attend and complete the SC Department of Education’s Literacy Leaders course (July 2011 – June 2012)  All district teachers complete a book study during the fall semester with Mike Schmoker’s Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning. [Sept. 7, Oct. 10, Nov. 2 & Dec. 7]  Develop “Curriculum Non-Negotiables” documents in all schools to include literacy across the content areas (vocabulary development, read- alouds, content reading, and writing)

LITERACY INITIATIVE – District-wide Strategies  Expand/ establish classroom libraries through purchase, donations, and redistribution of texts to support instructional expectation that students will spend a majority of their instructional time in direct reading or writing activities.  Increase community and student volunteer participation in schools to listen to students’ reading performances on a one-to- one basis, especially in the primary and elementary schools.  School Principals will meet together with Dr. Turner at least once a month to review progress and modify literacy strategies as appropriate.

BLPS Literacy Strategies for Establish a common Goals-Based Evaluation goal among all faculty of BLPS to raise reading test scores for Book study with all certified faculty of The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades [completed by Oct.11) Implementation of The Daily Five components in all classrooms by the end of the first semester. Book study with all certified faculty of The CAFÉ Book: Engaging Students in Daily Literacy Assessment & Instruction during second semester. (CAFÉ = Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expanded Vocabulary) Study the State Standards as a group and reduce to a list of Essential Standards Coordinate through the PTO a volunteer reading program of Twin City Listeners/ Readers for students in the Book Nook. Coordinate with BLHS Panther Pals -- a group of athletes who come to BLPS during the day to listen to students read.

BLES Literacy Strategies for Establish a common Goals-Based Evaluation goal among all faculty of BLES to raise writing test scores for Provide Thinking Maps training to faculty in fall semester and implement in classrooms during Increase the number of reading groups seen daily by teachers during the balanced literacy time block Pounce Club Develop Power Point presentations composed by students that play in the cafeteria during lunch/ breakfast that will include vocabulary, historical facts, suggested reading books, etc. Coordinate with BLMS Panther Pals -- a group of athletes who come to BLES during the day to listen to students read Implement Write From the Beginning curriculum to standardize writing instruction and improve writing achievement Develop lesson plan template for lesson requirements

BLMS Literacy Strategies for Establish a school goal among all the faculty of BLMS to raise reading test scores for (MAP national percentile scores to 50%; PASS increase the percent of met and exemplary to the state average or higher) Establish a school wide reading goal for all staff and students to read 20 books over the course of the school year and provide quarterly incentives for students and staff who meet quarterly goals (5 books per quarter) Require that all content area teachers, including related arts teachers, plan for “reading with a purpose” in each content area weekly and plan for an extended writing activity related to content studies at least quarterly Require students to “write to a prompt” quarterly and utilize all teachers for scoring to improve writing skills and writing instruction Begin analysis and training of the National Common Core standards in ELA to transition those standards into middle school curriculum maps Coordinate with BLES to send Panther Pals, a group of BLMS athletes who go to BLES weekly during the school day to listen to students read

BLHS Literacy Strategies for Establish a common Goals-Based Evaluation literacy goal among all faculty of BLHS for the school year Provide additional literacy professional development for all certified staff to include High Schools That Work literacy guidelines Implement a school wide DEER program (Drop Everything EVERYBODY Read) and accompanying school incentive system to increase student recreational reading and motivation. Incorporate silent-sustained reading (SSR) and reader conferences within English/ Language Arts classes 3 days a week Coordinate with BLPS for a Panther Pals program in which high school athletes and Beta Club students visit the Primary school during the school day to listen to students read Begin 5-year implementation of High Schools That Work (HSTW) literacy goals 1, 2, and Goal 1: Students will read the equivalent of 25 books per year across the curriculum Goal 2: Students will write weekly in all classes Goal 3: Students will use reading and writing strategies to help them understand content in all classes Increase and sponsor school-wide essay competitions Incorporate reading passages from ACT, SAT, and GED practice materials where appropriate to improve reading comprehension in ELA, Science, and Social Studies classes Improve quantity and quality of library book collection in order to increase circulation

Our motto for this initiative: “Lexington District Three -- Where Universal Literacy Matters” We will know we have been successful: when our least capable students read books for pleasure; when our most capable students score at the highest levels in reading and writing on college entrance exams; and when students at all levels are reading and writing in our classrooms for a majority of the school day.