Biennial Division Literacy Plan for the 25-26 SY

We made it! We survived our first year with the Virginia Literacy Act! We learned a lot and are ready to tackle next year! When we move into the 2025-2026 school year, we are including 4th-8th grade! Please read about plans below! 

Thank you! 📚💖📝 ☀️

 

myView Reflection

It's that time of the year when you think about myView and how the journey went this year. You might also be thinking about what you need to do differently next year to be more successful, after that glorious summer break! 

Here are the slides to get you thinking and celebrating! :) We did a lot and you should be proud! Don't forget to complete the survey so we can hear your view!

Spring Literacy Update - May 2025

 

Here is the PDF version to share with families! 

Resistance and Acceptance

I am a learner. It's my top strength. Because I love to learn, I also love to read. While reading this morning, I read a statement that made me stop and reflect on the Virginia Literacy Act. To summarize, "resistance causes excess stress so it's better to accept things. However, acceptance does not mean approval."  So I went on a deep dive of thinking and research on definitions. 

re·sist·ance

/rəˈzist(ə)ns/

noun

1. 1.

   the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.

   "she put up no resistance to being led away"

   
   

ac·cept·ance

/əkˈsept(ə)ns/

noun

1. 1.

   the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered.

   "charges involving the acceptance of bribes"

con·sent

/kənˈsent/

noun

1. 1. permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.

ap·prov·al

/əˈpro͞ov(ə)l/

noun

1. 1. the action of approving something.

   "the road plans have been given approval"
2. 
   
3. 2) the belief that someone or something is good or acceptable.

    "step-parents need to win a child's approval"

Refusing to accept the VLA leads to things that are 100% out of our circle of control. If I chose to refuse what it is asking me to do, I am going to be one stressed out, unhappy person. On the other hand, I can accept the VLA. I consent to following what it asks me to do and give it permission to direct my actions. What I LOVE is that neither acceptance or consent means approval because the second definition of approval is the belief that something is good or acceptable. 

Let's be honest. There are some things with the Virginia Literacy Act that I accept but do not approve. There are somethings that aren't good. Not everything can be. However, I am not going to resist because that will get me nowhere I want to be. 

Winter Literacy Update-January 2025

Here is the PDF Version to share with families! 

 

IWCS Vision & Goals-Updated January 2025

In order to support families and be clear and kind about our intentions, we have a Literacy webpage on the Isle of Wight County Schools site. Families would get to it by clicking Departments, Instruction, and then Literacy K-5 on the right. This is the direct link to share: https://www.iwcs.k12.va.us/apps/pages/literacy

Find this section to learn where we are with our goals and how we have been progress monitoring them. 

We have met our Implementation Goal! Yay! You all are doing a fantastic job of implementing MyView. At my last data meeting with Savvas, they said you all are using it the MOST. Thank you for your dedication! 

We are close to meeting our Instructional Goal. We have some areas to work on with ensuring all students are engaged in their learning and we don't overscaffold for students because of the rigor. 

We do have teachers participating in professional learning monthly during PLC on SBRR, EBLI, and HQIM topics. However, not all teachers have finished the VLA Canvas course so we are on our way in our Professional Learning Goal.

For our Assessment Goal, we want our students to increase in their reading skills. Currently in K-2 on VALLSS, we have 60% of our students in Low Risk. Our goal was to have over 50%! YAY!!! In grades 3-5, we wanted to have at least 68% of or students in Tier 1 and we have 71%!

Fall Literacy Update - November 2024

 

Link to the PDF version to access document links.  

IWCS Literacy Vision and Goals - Updated November 1st

We have done AMAZING things with our implementation. 

Thank you for all your hard work!!! 

Please click this link (here) to learn more about how we are reaching our goals. 

Implementing MyView Literacy by Savvas will help us achieve our vision! 

 

Science-Based Reading Research (SBRR)

Whether you are new to learning about science-based reading instruction or are more experienced with it and have more time, we have an opportunity for you! All that we do this year will be FOCUSED around science-based reading research, or SBRR. 

I recommend that you click here and find this! 

After that, click on Professional Learning Guide and choose pathway A, B, or pick from either or both! 

Spend some time reading, listening, and watching to learn more about the science of reading! Just click around and have fun! 

A video about science-based reading research will also be posted on the website soon. 

VALLSS for All K-2, Some 3

PALS is gone and in with the new, VALLSS. Thankfully, it rhymes so we already know how to say it. All students in grades K-2 will be given VALLSS. Students that are new to VA will be given VALLSS in 3rd grade. 

Here are some things to look at, listen to, watch, and read so you are prepared to administer the new screener in the Fall.  

1) Read the Flyer: VLP - Virginia Literacy Partners Informational Flyer (PDF) This will give an overview about the new screener. 

2) Here is an overview video to build background knowledge. 

3) Complete the Tutorial on the website. Once you login, click professional learning and then tutorials. It will take about 3 hours to complete and you have 30 days to do so. You will get a certificate after passing the quiz at the end that you will upload into Frontline. More information about signing up for the course in Frontline will be shared when you return in August. 

4) Finally, check out these resources for families.  https://literacy.virginia.edu/virginia-literacy-partnership-updates

In this tutorial, you will see some of these images that I thought were important to share again.

More specific information will be shared in August. If you are like me, have your email open, address one to me, and send me your questions! I will do my best to get them answered for you! 

MyView Learning Letter #15 - Why HQIM & SOR?

But before why, let's start with what does HQIM and SOR stand for? 

HQIM = high quality instructional materials

SOR = Science of Reading 

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, "Asking all educators to center their daily instruction in the new instructional materials can be a big change. We must build a common understanding of why this change is necessary with classroom educators, school leaders, and community members. Below are some of the key messages that should be shared with stakeholders to build their understanding of, and investment in, HQIM change." from VDOE Implementation Playbook, page 26

Key Message #1:

HQIM adoption supports our vision and helps us achieve our goals. 

Key Message #2:

 HQIM impacts student learning because it is based on science-based reading research (SBRR).

Key Message #3:

HQIM provides consistency and equal opportunities for learning for EVERY student in EVERY classroom. Adopting a single, coherent curriculum across schools will mean that all students are held to the same expectations and effectively experience the adopted Standards of Learning. 

Key Message #4:

By adopting and using HQIM, teachers will have consistent access to high-quality, grade-level content, and they will no longer spend significant time searching for or creating materials for daily lessons. Instead, teachers can use their new materials to focus on the needs of their students and creating instructional experiences grounded in materials and supports tailored to their needs. 

So...throughout this school year, you will about MyView Literacy by Savvas that is built on the Science of Reading (SOR). Read more about SOR here.

 

Coffee Chats (In-Person or Virtual)

If you have questions or want to talk about ANYTHING related to literacy, books, the VLA, MyView...you have two options to imbibe and discuss. :) 

1) Come visit me at Cure on the following dates and times. 

July 11 from 9:00-10:30 a.m.

July 15 from 3:00-4:30 p.m.

July 23 from 11:00-12:30 p.m.

2) Jump on a zoom to chat at the following dates and times. 

July 1 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. 

July 18 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. 

July 24 from 8:00-9:00 a.m.

Division Literacy Plan for 24-25 SY

Each division has to submit a literacy plan to VDOE describing our vision, our professional learning plan, what curriculum was chosen, what we will assess, how we will monitor progress, and how we will involve families. Read to find out what was approved by our school board. 

Growth Mindset & Professional Learning Goal

 

We really do learn from mistakes. I could share countless personal examples, but this time, I will share one from my daughter. I have told her (theory) and from practice (doing it with her) that she needs to wear sunscreen. She made a mistake of not applying it one day. She ended up with 2nd degree sunburns on her face. Guess what she learned? #mistakesmatter 

This is why we have this goal as we embark on our VLA adventure. 

Start now and take our questionnaire! 

MyView Learning Letter #13- Teacher Autonomy

One of the many concerns teachers have about adopting a new curriculum is that they feel they will lose their autonomy in what is taught and will become "robots" teaching from a scripted curriculum. How do I know? Because I am that teacher. I fought Reading First and having to use that basal so hard because "my way" was better. Well, I was young and I have learned. Maya Angelou said it best, 

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Boy have I felt this in my bones. Here's what I have learned and will continue to learn: 

1) Autonomy means the quality or state of being self-governing. While there will be a systematic and explicit pacing to follow, which you already do, you are still in charge of what that looks like in your classroom. You will have govern what the lesson looks like in your classroom based on the students in your care. More about this in #5. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/teacher-autonomy-isnt-dead-heres-how-to-achieve-it/2023/09

2)  I was not explicit in my teaching and sometimes am still not! I learned this after a coaching round at Westside this year. Following a scripted curriculum helps me be explicit which is how kids learn best.  https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-is-explicit-instruction

3) "HQIM (high quality instructional materials) Does Not Mean a Loss of Teacher Autonomy". This was taken from the VDOE's VLA Implementation Playbook  on page 25. "Many teachers fear a loss of autonomy when new curriculum is introduced. These fears are understandable for HQIM does require teachers to use their materials to ground all of their daily instructional experiences. That said, teachers will now be able to focus on how to engage their students in that content in the daily HQIM. As teachers become more versed with the daily lesson plans within the HQIM, teachers should be encouraged to think deeply about how to ensure students not only engage fully in that learning, but that students own the learning within the daily lesson." Having a plethora of the quality instructional materials means you get to focus on the delivery (internalizing and adapting) of the lessons rather than creating them. There is no planning and thinking about what to do, you get to plan the HOW. 

4) This section is taken from UFLI Foundation's Teacher's Manual about Implementation Guidance. "Implementation fidelity refers to the degree to which a program is implemented as designed. If the program is not implemented as designed, it may not achieve the intended student outcomes." (page 35) 

When I read this, I think back to countless of situations where we are not getting the student results we have wanted and many times, the company will say, "Well, you haven't been using it the way it was designed." Oh. You're right. 

Here is another quote from UFLI. "Attaining implementation fidelity should not mean that your lessons are stilted or robotic. Quite the contrary! As noted throughout this handbook, brisk lesson pacing and high student engagement are essential elements of every lesson. The key is keeping the lesson fun and supportive of students' needs. The best way to ensure student success is providing as many opportunities to respond as you possibly can during the lesson. Varying those practice opportunities keeps it interesting for studnets but varying it too much can take up valuable instructional time as you explain each new activity. It is fine to put your own stamp on the lesson, to personalize it to fit your teacher style as long as you accomplish the lesson goals." (page 36)

5) In The Broken Logic of "Sold a Story": A Personal Response to "The Science of Reading" by Thomas Newkirk found here (second link), section 11 says it best! "Science and Being Scientific I recently came across a comment from a parent, I've lost the source, but the gist was: even though the Science of Reading programs restricted teacher decision-making, they were firmly based on science. And according to the parent, that was a good trade off. Publishers are lining up with scripted, paced, structured, explicit programs that are advertised as based on the science of reading. There is a paradox here: "science" is viewed as a set of established truths that teachers implement, without being scientific themselves. That is, without the expectation that they monitor the results of their own teaching, and adjust that teaching based on what they see. In these systems they are not acting, or allowed to act, with the agency Tolstoy advocated: "the best method would be the one which would answer best to the difficulties incurred by the pupil, that is not a method but an art and talent." The problem here is that science is viewed as coercive, and producing results so certain, so conclusive that the only ethical position for practitioners is to accept and implement these truths. The issue, we are told, has been settled, the question of best practice answered. Yet the very nature of science is to be unsettled, to restlessly challenge received wisdom, and to constantly test out conventional wisdom in the cauldron of our own experience and professional work." (page 25) 

You must be scientific and not just teach the lesson scripted without paying attention to your own teaching and how the students are learning. You will need to look at the students in your class and figure out how to scaffold the lesson to make sure your students learn it. I go back to what the authors in UFLI said, personalize it to fit you and your studnets AS LONG AS YOU ACCOMPLISH THE LESSON GOALS. 

I know these 5 notes will not change your thinking immediately. I do hope that they have caused you to pause and reflect. That's the start. :) 

If you have strong feelings and beliefs about this topic, please reach out! I would love to chat because I have them, too! 

Helpful Links to Prepare for the VLA

VLP - VALUE Series - Professional development for reading specialists and teachers on science of reading topics, best practices, and VALLSS. 

Readings - Articles and web pages for educators on teaching within the science of reading framework.

Recordings - Video recordings related to the VLA and evidence-based literacy instruction.

Short Videos - Short videos related to evidence-based literacy instruction.

Webinars - Recorded longer webinars from VDOE regarding VLA and evidence-based literacy instruction.

VLA Roles and Responsibilities

I believe this. It's nice when people are clear with me so I know expectations! One way that I am trying to be as clear as possible is to be transparent with information. Like a student, I like to see what I am supposed to do before I have to do it. I like to see the rubric ahead of time to see how I am going to be evaluated. So, here are your responsibilities as a teacher before the VLA goes LIVE next school year! 

As you can see, you have responsibilities, but so do I. So does your Principal. So does your Reading Coach. It's helpful to see what everyone is supposed to be doing so we can "hold each other ABLE". This has a positive connotation rather than "hold each other accountable". #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

VLA Professional Learning

As you can see, the VLA requires professional learning! Thankfully, if you have completed LETRS, you only have to complete the Capstone Course. If you have not completed LETRS, you will need to complete the K-5 Teachers Canvas Course. More information will be coming, but I wanted to at least, give you some information about professional learning expectations for the following school year.

 As always, let me know if you have questions! 

Virginia Literacy Act Playbook

https://sites.google.com/iwcs.k12.va.us/islereadislewrite/vla-virginia-literacy-act