ARI Literacy Leadership

The Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) is a statewide initiative committed to supporting the development of high-quality instruction that will prepare all students with the literacy skills needed to meet or exceed grade-level standards. The goal of the ARI is to significantly improve reading instruction and ultimately achieve 100% literacy among public school students.

The beginning of a new school year for school leaders is similar to a pilot's preparations to take flight. Just as pilots log a flight plan, school leaders make a plan to guide their teachers and staff in the direction of providing effective instruction and supporting student achievement. Like the pilot and flight crew care for the passengers, a school leadership team fosters a positive environment for educators. Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for the takeoff of a fantastic school year!

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

- John Maxwell

Each component in the school-wide system for literacy is like a cog working with other gears in a complex machine. The components are critical for improving reading proficiency. They contain the criteria that inform practices, processes, and the overall strength of services delivered to improve reading achievement.

• Leadership and Implementation Teams
• Universal Core Instruction
• Intervention
• Data-Informed Decision Making
• Assessment
• Professional Learning
• Community and Family Involvement

The Alabama Reading Initiative webpage provides a wealth of information for Alabama educators to use. It includes resources surrounding each of the above-mentioned cogs, as well as a page for the Alabama Literacy Act, Educational Preparation Programs (EPPS), ARI- Beyond Grade 3, News and Updates, and the Office of Student Learning.

• Use the 2025-2026 Structure Generates Behavior template to ensure that essential structures are in place for the new school year. This template is meant to be a tool to support planning and is not submitted for monitoring purposes. You may add specificity and make it yours to support the implementation of these structures at your school.

• Share and/or review the local reading specialist (LRS) job description with faculty.

• Plan and collaborate routinely with your LRS to establish a partnership.

• Set a day/ time to meet each week with your LRS using a structured agenda.

• Schedule and conduct classroom walk-throughs regularly using a science of reading walkthrough tool.

• Communicate summer learning progress with families. Determine if further interventions are needed during the school year (before/after school tutoring, additional intervention supports).

• Consider the planning structures that will be implemented to ensure quality Tier 1 instruction.

• Review the August OSI Principal Checklist, which includes high-leverage, critical activities and deadlines that may be useful to your school for planning and discussion purposes.

Welcome back, school leaders! The Alabama Reading Initiative would like to welcome new district leaders, principals, and local reading specialists. Your ARI regional team is ready to provide support on this year's literacy journey. Our first task is scheduling initial/kickoff meetings to discuss pertinent information around our collaborative work. Your leadership specialist will contact you or may have already contacted you to schedule a meeting. This initial meeting will last approximately one hour. During this meeting, we will collaborate on the following:

• Alabama Literacy Act Requirements/Updates
• District/School Literacy Priorities
• Assessment Plans
• ARI Support Structure/Communication Protocols
• Any other pertinent/needed information and areas of focus/need

The primary audience for this meeting is the LEA contact, however you may invite other support team members to the meeting at your discretion. We look forward to working with your district and serving alongside you during the school year.

Central office ARI contacts are invited to a virtual opportunity prior to each ARI Coaching Community and Leadership Lab.

Overview of Central Office Sessions:

• Coaching Community and Leadership Lab content
• Expectations for expanded implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act
• Data analysis and instructional support
• Structures that support ongoing literacy development and elements for success
• Four virtual sessions that will summarize key information relevant for the time of year

Registration Link: 2025-2026 Central Office Virtual Sessions

Password: ARI2025

Designations for ARI support are calculated every three years. Preliminary third-grade ACAP sufficiency data determined the current support levels. The Gradual Release Model for Coaching Support shows how the Alabama Reading Initiative is deployed and the support provided to each school/ LEA. The map of the 2025-2026 Alabama Reading Initiative Regional Literacy Staff can be found on the ARI webpage.

Diane Sweeney makes a powerful analogy to the different vantage points from which we view data and the different ways we can use data to inform instruction. Consider how your school data may be analyzed from these different viewpoints.

• Airplane View: This is an overall view of the data (state, district).
• Whole-Mountain View: This is looking closer at the data (schoolwide, grade level).
• Ground-Level View: This is more specified and detailed (classroom, specific students).

Early Years Assessments help identify students' foundational reading needs early, allowing for timely and targeted support. This practice aligns with the goal of the Alabama Literacy Act to ensure that all students develop as skilled readers by the end of third grade. Information on the Early Years Assessments and resources that may assist you in making decisions with your team concerning Early Years Assessments may be accessed on the ARI Google Site.

We are proud of the tremendous work done in Alabama schools during the 2024-2025 school year to support K-3 students!

These documents may be useful when interpreting ACAP scores and understanding ACAP proficiency levels:

• ACAP Summative and ACAP Supplemental Reading Test 2024 - 2025 Proficiency Levels
• ACAP Summative Reading Subtest Cut Scores

As a reminder, third graders who did not meet the cut score on their 2nd Grade ACAP Reading Summative Assessment are REQUIRED to have a digital portfolio. This portfolio should demonstrate their achievement toward mastery status of the essential standards as determined by the Literacy Task Force. Please note that the Analytics and Insights platform is to be used to house documentation of all portfolio evidence.

As you plan to meet the needs of third graders who do not have a pathway to promotion or those students promoted to fourth grade by a good cause exemption, please be mindful of what the Alabama Literacy Act states should be in place to provide for the literacy needs of these students. The Structures for Supporting Students Who Have Been Retained document can assist you in planning for student supports for the next school year. Key to their support is MORE. Remember that we need to accelerate and provide them MORE time in literacy per the Alabama Literacy Act.

The Alabama Early Learning Inventory (AL ELI) is a formative-based assessment and includes a set of sixteen developmental progressions across the six domains of learning and development. The AL ELI Support & Resource Padlet provides support, including access to a map of support staff.

The 1st Grade Readiness Assessment Communication will help you see which students would be impacted by taking the assessment. Note that:

• Any process you already have in place through LEA policies for 1st grade readiness most likely will not be impacted by this.
• MOST of your 1st graders will NOT have next steps needed as you implement this protocol.
• For this initial year (2025-2026 school year), no student shall be prevented from enrolling in the first grade based on his or her performance on THIS assessment.

Information and trainings for both the Kindergarten Entry Assessment and the First Grade Readiness Assessment can be found on the Assessment page of the ARI webpage.

Annual Reporting Requirements/Analytics & Insights Guidance

As the September deadline for legislative reporting aligned with the Alabama Literacy Act and the Alabama Numeracy Act approaches, we want to remind you of a valuable resource developed collaboratively by ARI and OMI. This tool outlines key aspects of the reporting process and includes live links for easy access to reports within PowerSchool Analytics & Insights. For additional support or information regarding legislative reporting requirements, please contact your Regional Literacy Leadership Specialist.

ARI and OMI Legislative Reporting Requirements Guide.pdf - Google Drive

Alabama camps are having a positive impact on student growth! With that in mind, it is not too early to reflect on areas of success and areas for potential growth to begin planning for summer learning 2026.

• Designate a time specifically for your reflection process with stakeholders, and include site directors, local reading specialists, administrators, and anyone else involved in making decisions for summer reading camps.

• Double-check the student data entered in PowerSchool Analytics & Insights and use it to guide conversations and inform beginning-of-year decisions.

• Look for potential funding sources that can enhance your summer programming. Allocations for before/after school tutoring and reading/math camps and the Alabama Summer and Afterschool Program (ASAP) grant will be made available very soon.

• Ensure summer learning stays in the conversation when making financial decisions. Local, state, and federal funding sources can be combined to create a comprehensive, quality summer learning program.

For more information, please visit the ALSDE Office of Extended Learning website at https://oxl.alsde.edu or contact Jeff Norris, OXL Education Specialist, at oxl@alsde.edu.

As the school year takes flight, student-centered coaching offers a solid start by focusing on what matters most: student learning. By partnering with teachers, local reading specialists (LRS) can build trust, align goals, and set a positive tone for growth from day one. Setting the tone for student-centered coaching requires a school leader who understands this type of coaching and can articulate how it positively impacts student learning.

In the book The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching, author Diane Sweeney provides five steps administrators can take for creating excitement around coaching:

1. Define why coaching matters. (Articulate why teachers should care.)
2. Communicate how coaching aligns with other district initiatives. (Make sure teachers understand that coaching is not one more thing.)
3. Share the coach’s role and how it folds into the plan for school improvement. (Help teachers see the coach as inherent to the school’s success.)
4. Describe the expectations for teacher participation in coaching. (Identify what participation looks like and how much time it will take.)
5. Outline how teachers will be provided with choice and ownership in the coaching process. (Make coaching about more than compliance.)

Working in partnership with your LRS, create a plan for implementing these steps to build a solid foundation for student success.

Dates for 2025-2026 EL Office Hours and EL Quarterly Administrator Meetings have been released. Plan to attend to stay informed, collaborate, and get the latest updates on EL programs.

Use this link to submit questions or topics of interest for EL Office Hours and Quarterly Administrator Meetings.

ARI Local Reading Specialists (LRS) are required (per the MOU/MOA) to collaborate with regional specialists and attend professional learning opportunities hosted by ARI, including all assigned Coaching Communities, which support ongoing growth for LRS. The 2025-2026 New LRS Orientation and Coaching Community windows are listed below. LRS will be notified of specific Coaching Community dates.

Please join us for 2025-2026 Leadership Labs! Leadership Labs are full-day, authentic professional learning experiences designed for Alabama K-3 principals. Every Alabama principal should attend and engage in two face-to-face lab experiences and two virtual sessions. Assistant principals are encouraged to attend the virtual sessions.

We are excited to share our APLDS opportunities for all leaders for the 2025-2026 school year. We have noted on the APLDS flyer which opportunities are for principals only, as well as the opportunities for assistant principals.

APLDS Professional Learning Opportunities for 2025-2026

APLDS Virtual Sessions

Professional Learning Opportunities for Full Support Principals (Link to Mel Ilk Sessions)

LETRS® Cohort 9 Registration

Cohort 9 Registration for Enrollment in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS®) is open through August 29, 2025, for Alabama's Public/Public Charter School educators, including professors in Alabama's Educator Prep Programs. Kickoff sessions will begin August 2025. Virtual and in-person training opportunity sessions will begin September 2025 and will be offered by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) throughout the 2025-2026 school year. Please utilize this link to review a handout detailing LETRS® course processes and expectations, and please utilize this link to review the LETRS® Commitments Overview.

To participate and receive credit for any LETRS® training, a participant must have an active license from Lexia Learning. If you need further assistance, please contact AlabamaLETRS@alsde.edu.

The Alabama Reading Initiative welcomes local reading specialists to a new year, and the ARI regional staff look forward to supporting you. As you are on the runway planning to take flight into the 2025-2026 school year, consider how you will establish strong partnerships and relationships. The following recommendations from Diane Sweeney's book, Moves for Launching a New Year of Student-Centered Coaching, may assist you in your planning:

• Plan to be visible the first few weeks. This might include conversations while helping teachers set up their classrooms and schedules, as well as greeting students and families.
• Consider creating a welcome letter. This can serve to introduce yourself and build excitement around coaching.
• Be a Learner. Seek opportunities to spend time in classrooms and show your learner mindset.
• Offer mentoring support to new teachers. There are differences between mentoring and Student-Centered Coaching. Differentiated support can be provided to teachers who are new to the profession, school, or district.
• Take action early to create opportunities. Consider creating and sending out sign-ups for joining grade-level collaboration or supporting new teachers.
• Establish how you will work as a principal and coach team this year. Establish or reestablish norms for working together this year- including when you will meet, what your roles will be, and how you will communicate the work that is taking place.

  
  

The beginning of each year brings a new opportunity to envision what your work will look like and how you will deepen the impact it makes on teacher and student learning (Diane Sweeney, Moves for Launching a New Year of Student-Centered Coaching). Keep in mind that student learning is the foundation of our partnerships with teachers and school leaders. We look forward to supporting you in your coaching role and planning alongside you this school year.

The 2025-2026 ARI LRS MOU/ MOA can be found here.

The ARI Family and Community Back to School Newsletter provides support as you partner with families to build strong readers.

ARI has created Family and Community Modules to assist you in providing information so

every K-3 parent can understand the Alabama Literacy Act and ways to support their student.

ARI can partner with you in turning around this training to families. ​Consider these ideas:

• Provide an opportunity for EVERY family to attend a training (consider having

  translators available). ​

• Couple the training with a service/event already scheduled or a solo event. (Ex:

  November is National Family Literacy Month.) ​

• Provide this as a DISTRICT endeavor led by your local reading specialists (with

  support from ARI regionals) or providing a training at each school. ​

• Invite community agencies to support students before/afterschool so they,

  too, are equipped to support literacy. ​

Working together, we can ensure every parent has the opportunity to receive
this information during the first semester, setting the tone for a strong year of partnership and literacy growth. ​

The information included in this document is done from the perspective of improving LITERACY instruction for students and is only intended to outline support that directly relates to literacy instruction. Please use any resource links with discretion, as their position statements are their own and not necessarily representative of ARI and the ALSDE. Usage of any materials should be with adherence to rules and regulations of the Alabama State Department of Education.