Dr. Vashti K. Washington Superintendent of Schools Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes Chief Officer of Academics and Human Resources September 9, Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

South Carolina and Jasper County School District’s Definition of Literacy Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, listen and view in order to communicate with others effectively. This is an active and complex process, which evolves from a strong foundational base of precursory skills and leads to thinking and responding critically in the 21 st century. 2Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Essential Elements and Goals Goal #1: Provide a rigorous language arts curriculum that will both engage and challenge students. Goal #2: Implement proven, research-based strategies designed to close achievement gaps among our students, thereby meeting the needs of the individual student. Goal#3: Increase student achievement as measured by a variety of assessments. 3Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Essential Elements and Goals Goal #4: Ensure a safe, engaging, nurturing environment conducive to exemplary teaching and learning for all students. Goal #5: Encourage and provide opportunities for students to read a variety of appropriate texts independently. Goal #6: Use reading and writing strategies to increase learning in all content areas and across all grade levels. 4Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Essential Elements and Goals Goal #7: Provide students with the opportunities in all content areas to read and write daily in and out of school. Goal #8: Increase effective three-way communication among the home, community, and schools. Goal #9: Incorporate media information literacy to enhance a curriculum and instruction. 5Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Essential Elements and Goals Goal #10: Provide opportunities for students to participate to inquiry/project-based learning projects across the curriculum. 6Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. 1. We have shared the plans with each school and we continue to receive unwavering support from the leadership and staff. 2. We divided the plan into areas of responsibilities. The three areas of responsibilities will be: school, teacher, and student. 3. Researched previously bought reading books and novels in our buildings to develop classroom libraries for our teachers and students. 7Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. 4.Presentations and trainings have been done at the schools reviewing and revising our district’s Writing Initiative Plan so that it mirrors what we are expecting to take place within our District’s Literacy Plan. 5. Schools have developed Word Walls in their classrooms and in certain halls to enhance the vocabulary of our students. 6. Every grade level (Pre-K – 5 th ) and ELA teachers (Grades 6-8) have received the book entitled “The Continuum of Literacy Learning- Grades PreK-8” that allows them to find resources to assist with Literacy Learning. 8Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. 7. Every grade level (Pre-K thru 5 th ) and ELA (6-8) have been given the book entitled “Reading Power” by Adrienne Gear. It is a book that stresses teaching students to think while they read. 8.Cross grade level and departmental articulation to develop literacy at the high school through training. 9. Hiring of Reading Interventionist for Ridgeland Elementary School, Hardeeville Elementary School, and Hardeeville- Ridgeland Middle School 9Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. 10.The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) training this summer along with the Solar Energy training that our middle school teachers participated in. This training allows our teachers to do Project-based learning with an emphasis on Literacy and hands on. 11. Providing a Gifted and Talented teacher at both elementary schools to increase the level of thinking and processing for our students who are on the top portion of our triangle. 10Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. 12.Every school in the district has developed Literacy Teams. 13. Literacy Plans were submitted to the State Department of Education for Ridgeland Elementary School and Hardeeville- Ridgeland Middle School (Palmetto Priority School). 14.Reading Interventionists from each of the schools have attended trainings showing different strategies to work with struggling readers. These trainings were provided in July and August through South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA) and Reading Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan… Teachers have been offered the opportunity and the resources to attend Professional Creative Writing Workshops during the school year. 16.We are currently inviting community persons and qualified stakeholders to participate on our District’s Literacy Advisory Team. Educators from each of our schools have been invited to participate on the team as well. 17.We have developed additional resources to assist us with the RtI Implementation of our schools as it relates to the Literacy Plan. We have the same Universal Screening resources at both elementary schools. 12Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. 18.Title I implemented a component this summer to help with Literacy (Learning) Loss. 13Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. Purchased Summer Bridge Activities book for every student in grades K-7. Each book is specifically designed to bridge the period between grade levels, using daily activities and exercises and included a comprehensive summer reading list. Purchased Summer Reading Packets containing 5-10 Fiction and Non-Fiction books with activity sheets for parents to use with their children during and after reading. 14Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

Where Are We Now As We Look At the Plan….. Evening-At-The-Park during the months of June and July to reward students for their hard work and dedication to the program and working to decrease the Summer Reading Loss. 15Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/2013

More To Come….. This is our first point of evaluating and looking at the District’s Literacy Plan. We will continue to monitor and make necessary adjustments. As we make the changes and progress, we will update the Board of Trustees at the request of Dr. Washington. Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/201316

Questions….. Presented by Dr. A. Lee Holmes 9/9/201317