Clara Sulz , Director of Instruction Donna Kozak , Early Learning and Literacy Coordinator

1. Know Every Child to Teach Every Child: Vulnerable Children Becoming Thriving Primary Readers – An Intervention Success Story in SD 23: Clara Sulz, Director of Instruction Donna Kozak, Early Learning and Literacy Coordinator School District No. 23 – Central Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, When Vulnerable Readers Thrive- Dreams Come True, Vancouver, October 7 & 8, 2013

2. SD No. 23 (Central Okanagan)K-3 Early Learning Profile √ Knowing What They Know√ Knowing What They Need√ Knowing What We Need to Teach

3. In-depth summary of our “12 years of Innovation in Student Literacy Growth”, • An Early Learning (Birth to 8) Program Review – Vulnerable Children Becoming Thriving Primary Readers • Program Review by Dr. Janet Mort, (August, 2012)

4. Why does our district focus on the at-risk learner in the early years? • One of the most compelling findings from recent reading research is that children who get off to a poor start in reading rarely catch up. • The poor 1st grade reader almost invariably continues to be a poor reader. • We realize the sense of urgency that exists for young learners and have an early identification system in place to support their development. (Francis, Shaywitz, Stuebing, Shaywitz & Fletcher, 1996; Torgenson& Burgess, 1998)

5. We understand where to begin…√Knowing What They Know√ Knowing What They Need√ Knowing What We Need to Teach • At-Risk students are those who begin school with less verbal skills, less phonological awareness skills, less letter knowledge and less familiarity with the basic purpose and mechanics of reading. (Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Snow, et.al., 1998)

6. The place to start is not with the curriculum, but with the child. Anne McGill-Franzen, 2006

7. The highway to Literacy….. Concepts of Print Oral Language Phonological Awareness Reading Comprehension Alphabetic Principle Understanding of Genre Letter-Sound Knowledge World Knowledge Motivation to Engage with Text Word Recognition Early Writing Home-School Partnerships

8. Ten minutes that may change a life. (Know the child to teach the child). To know one child is to know all children better. (Anne McGill-Franzen, 2006)

9. Connections Pause, reflect, and connect…

10. THE UNSETTLING TRUTH Students who don’t learn to read by grade 3 have a 75% chance of never acquiring the necessary skills to become literate and successfully graduate from high school.

11. It is a tragedy of the first order that while we know clearly the costs of waiting too long, few school districts have in place a mechanism to identify and help children before failure takes hold.$$Indeed, in the majority of cases, there is no systematic identification until 3rd grade, by which time successful remediation is more difficult and typically too costly to effectively implement.(Torgenson, 1998)

12. District Level Collection of Year End Early Learning Profile (ELP) Data in SD No. 23 • All primary teachers submit the student’s year-end ELP to the district director who oversees literacy and early learning. • The data is collated and returned to the schools in September with grade level summaries identifying students who have determined to be “at-risk” in one or more of the Profile’s assessments.

13. Five Year Trend 2012 - 2013 K 1 2 3 2005/2006 to 2008/2009 22% = 252/1143 23% = 262/1226 15% = 196/1308 16% = 212/1324 2006/2007 to 2009/2010 24% = 272/1134 26% = 314/1208 17% = 212/1249 15% = 195/1297 2007/2008 to 2010/2011 20% = 236/1181 30% = 358/1193 17% = 208/1226 12% = 154/1282 2008/2009 to 2011/2012 22% = 260/1181 23% = 285/1238 16% = 206/1288 11% = 143/1296 2009/2010 to 2012/2013 20% = 240/1201 24% = 297/1239 17% = 216/1226 11% = 140/1271 2011 – 2012 Data 17% = 208/1226 23% = 275/1196 17% = 216/1268 11% = 143/1296 2012 – 2013 Data 12% = 155/1289 23% = 285/1237 14% = 171/1219 11% = 140/1271

14. Why use data to track student progress in early literacy learning? • The benchmarks and standards provide: • invaluable guidance to school personnel, curriculum planners and district decision-makers… …for purposes including designing and evaluating intervention efforts, • monitoring progress over time against a constant standard, • and developing more sensitive and informative assessments. (Snow, et. al, 1998)

15. Connections Pause, reflect, and connect…

16. A Crucial Window of Opportunity Exists from K-2 Literacy Foundations Pre-K - K Grade One Grade Two Grade 3

17. Kindergarten

18. Grade 1

19. Grade 2

20. Grade 3

21. SD No. 23 Early Literacy (K-3)Profile Items: • Oral language: • expressive, • receptive, • phonological awareness • Alphabet recognition • Concepts of print = print & text awareness • Developmental Spelling & Writing sample • Word Recognition

22. Identification is only the beginning. Effective and intensive intervention must be offered immediately. (Hall, 2008) • Teachers need to understand the knowledge base and make it part of their schema of teaching. • They need to understand the theory and the rationale for the new content or practice.(Learning First Alliance, 2000)

23. What? So What? Now What? • Need to focus on classroom instruction as the centerpiece of literacy learning (Tier 1) • In SD 23 in-service has been focused on building the capacity of the classroom teacher in the area of literacy for the past 12 years.

24. If resources are provided to teachers, professional development must also accompany them. • Professional development that develops teachers’ expertise in early literacy matters much more than just materials alone. • (McGill-Franzen, 2006)

25. Teachers must know their students in • order to teach them well. • 2. The impact of the teacher is the single-most powerful variable in effect on student literacy achievement. • 3. In designing promising literacy success for all students, far more attention must be paid to ensuring every teacher is an expert in reading instruction. (Allington, 2009)

26. Literacy instruction that is not based on careful observation of individual development will not help all children gain the ground they need to reach their potential. • Children learn to read and write successfully if their teachers accommodate their instruction to the children’s individual needs. If they do not, children will struggle. (McGill-Franzen, 2006)

27. Connections Pause, reflect, and connect…

28. The 3 Tiers of Instruction and Intervention“Response to Instruction/Intervention or RTII” • Teaching to diversity through the Tier model • Universal early screening to inform instruction • Just-right and timely EARLY interventions based on current research of best practice • Student needs drive planning

29. Pyramid of Intervention Tier 3: Intensive, Individual Interventions Typically Designated Students 1-5% 10-15% will require more instruction & practice. Tier 2: Targeted Group Interventions Targets small groups of students (at-risk) High probability interventions Increased time and/or focus More frequent progress monitoring 80-90% of students will learn through effective classroom instruction. Tier 1: Universal Interventions Targets all students Universal screenings Preventive, proactive

30. The Three Tiers of Instruction and Intervention for Literacy Learning • Sense of urgency exists at the school level regarding catching the at-risk learners during the “Window of Literacy Learning Opportunity” • School-wide planning reflects this sense of urgency K – 3 Early Literacy Profile

31. What Really Matters for Struggling Readers, Allington, 2012 • Instructional support programs must work to enhance the likelihood that participating students receive larger amounts of appropriate instruction across the school day. • Students need appropriate texts in their hands all day long, not just in support programs. • Schools must enhance classroom instruction so that the number of struggling readers is minimized and then put into place an organizational strategy that ensures effective and timely intervention.

32. Classroom Teachers Must Become Experts of Teaching Reading And Writing • If instructional expertise available in any school does not improve the classroom instruction, then it is typically uneconomical. • We do not need experts who just fix kids and return them to ineffective or inefficient classrooms. • Sending a “fixed” student back into broken classrooms just means that the student will likely need fixing again. Allington, 2012

33. Focusing on developing the instructional expertise of teachers • Too many reform efforts have targeted peripheral issues like curriculum frameworks or instructional materials which may have some impact on teaching, but do not develop instructional expertise. • Most teachers seem to teach as best as they know how. Some are teaching in the way they were taught. Allington, 2007

34. The Continual Spiral of Building Teacher Capacity • SD No. 23 in-service has continually been focused on building the capacity of the classroom teacher in the area of early literacy for the past 12 years. 1. ELP training every September for new teachers (2002 – 2013) Resources provided:

35. ECE/K summer institutes (2008 – 2013) • Dr. Janet Mort – Celebrating ECEs! • Dr. Susan Bennett-Armistead • Bev Boshttp://www.turnthepage.com/servlet/StoreFront • Dr. Jean Feldman http://www.drjean.org/ - Dr. Kim Schonert-Reichl – Social Emotional Development

36. First Friday in September • Kindergarten Teacher full day sessions (2010-2013) 1. Oral language 2. Make and Take Mini Sessions offered by K Teachers 3. Explorations with 4 follow-up sessions 4. Read, Write, Play, Learn (Lori Jamison Rog)

37. Book Clubs for ECE, K and Gr. 1 Teachers • Learning to Write and Loving It, Miriam Trehearne • Read, Write, Play, Learn, Lori Jamison Rog & (Sept. 6, 2013 for all K teachers) • K-1 Learning Community and Inquiry Group “The Daily 5 in the K-1 Classroom”

38. District Literacy Focus (2010-13) • Daily 5 and CAFÉ by Boushey and Moser • Words Their Way, Bear and Templeton • 6+1 Traits, Culham and Spandel • Literature Circles • Books and letter manipulatives for all K and K-1 Classrooms • Letter and Sound Time Kit, Road to Reading Kit, primary PM leveled book collections for each school

39. Early Learning For Families - ELFF • Ready, Set, Learn • Locally written – 6 themes – alphabet, numbers, singing, talking, playing and feelings. • Each elementary school facilitates at least one session per year.

40. Collaborative Model of Support – 10 Literacy Support Teacher Sessions over 2 Years • RTI – creating a common language and understanding around the 3 Tiers of Intervention for Literacy – translation of theory to practice • Specific training in reading assessment including the ELP. • Case study approach to learn about how to meet the needs of diverse learners in reading. • Effective Instructional strategies that transcend all tiers. • Understanding the literacy support teacher roles (teacher, collaborator, coordinator, resource)

41. Plan A: Submitted to the Ministry July 2012 SD 23 K – 3 Early Reading Plan for 2012 – 2013 Board Motion: “…Develop a new collaborative Model of Support that includes the investigation of differentiated interventions strategies to meet the needs of all vulnerable students in all elementary schools.” Our District has been focusing on "Changing the Results for Young Readers" for the past 12 years. (2012-2013 Approximately – $1,948,000 allocated to support the District’s initiative to meet the needs of vulnerable students)

44. Literacy Focused Instructional Approaches that Foster Differentiation and Inclusion of All Learners

45. Investment in Classroom Teachers Who Can Teach Reading Effectively • Researchers now suggest that the most promising solution to creating successful schools is to focus primarily on enhancing the expertise of classroom teachers. • Individual teacher effects on student learning are larger than school effects. (Allington, 2007)

46. In order to create schools where all children learn to read and write, school districts must develop plans that support and sustain the development of teacher expertise and effectiveness. • Changes in classrooms matter most – good schools are collections of good classrooms. Allington, 2007

47. 6 Culture Shifts in School ChangeWhen Students Fail to Learn – Protocols for a Schoolwide ResponseCatherine Glaude, Ph.D., 2011 • From individual teachers determining their responses when students fail to learn…… ..........to a school wide response that guarantees each student will receive timely support to become proficient.

48. From teacher-determined assessments used to identify which students meet or fail to meet learning expectations ……… …….. To a combination of common school-wide and subject-area assessments along with teacher informal assessments. • From remediation after learning…… ……. To just-in time interventions when a student begins to demonstrate challenges in learning.

49. From privatization of practice……… …….. To sharing and exchanging of results, practices, and resources. 5. From reporting each student’s progress half-way or at the end of a marking period…… ……. To ongoing monitoring and communication of progress that each student makes. • From “my” and “your” students….. ……. To “our” students.

50. The National Strategy for Early Literacy in Canada 2009 • Most literacy challenges can be prevented through an appropriate mix of: • 1) effective instruction; • 2) early learning experiences; • 3) systematic assessments to identify any children who experience difficulty at an early age; and, • 4) appropriate intervention." (p.6)