Our Mission
The Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) is a statewide K-3 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 literacy among all public-school students.
As we spring into March we need to ensure that we are up-to-date on several important tasks.
- Review the schedule of your Local Reading Specialist. Reflect upon how you can support him or her to achieve the goal of spending at least 60% of their time actively involved in coaching & mentoring teachers.
Review the schedule of the LRS and look for purposeful scheduling of the parts of a coaching cycle (pre-planning, planning with teacher, coaching, reflecting, debriefing).
Meet with the Local Reading Specialist weekly (In these meetings, make it a regular practice to explore their weekly schedule & RBCTs that are in the process of being completed).
Discuss the Leadership Moves with your Local Reading Specialist.
Discuss the LETRS vocabulary routine and the POSSUM routine and how layers of language should be taught with your LRS.
Observe a vocabulary lesson.
Begin Summer Reading Camp planning.
Provide staff training specific to Summer Reading Camp.
Ensure that before school and/or after school instruction and supplemental evidence-based reading intervention are delivered by teachers or tutors with specialized reading training.
Schedule and conduct classroom walk-throughs.
Develop a plan for collecting student evidence within your school or district and uploading into Unified Insights.
Support 3rd grade teachers as they collect evidence for Literacy Act Portfolios (LAPs).
Unified Insights:
Unified Insights is changing the way schools in Alabama keep documentation on students. The platform creates a “one stop shop” right at our fingertips and it allows pertinent information to be accessed quickly and efficiently. Unified Insights will enable schools to respond to questions ranging from addresses and attendance to student data, and individual behavior, or instructional plans, and do so in a timely manner.
- Where is your district on entering SRIP and LAP evidence in Unified Insights?
- Do you have a plan of action to get the teachers and other important staff trained in using the platform?
Literacy Act Portfolio:
Regular check-ins should be scheduled for portfolios. Teachers should already have a collection of evidence in each third-grade. For students not scoring above the ACAP Reading Subtest cut score, this evidence can be uploaded to a Literacy Act Portfolio in Unified Insights. Here are a few important reminders:
- Each student at risk for not reaching the sufficiency cut score should have an active portfolio (collection of evidence).
- Evidence of mastery (70%) or non-mastery should be added for each of the standards.
- Each standard should contain at least three pieces of evidence.
- One piece of evidence can be used for multiple standards.
- Parents should be informed that their child has a portfolio to possibly use as a pathway to promotion.
- Evidence can be added to portfolios during summer camps.
Summer Learning Camp Planning:
Implementing an effective summer learning camp takes lots of planning! It's time to pull together a team of hard-working and dedicated staff members to begin planning your summer camp efforts. Summer learning has proven to assist in increasing student achievement and decreasing summer reading loss. Here are a few questions to consider as your team begins this important endeavor:
- Who will teach summer school? Have you made preparations for hiring SOR trained instructors?
- How many students will be served? What data will be used to determine students that need summer school?
- When will invites be sent to students?
- What resources will be used to ensure that summer instruction is aligned to our standards and SOR?
These are just a few of the many questions that will need to be considered as you begin planning an amazing summer learning program for students.
Summer Learning Camp Funding:
Title I
ESSER Funds-set aside for summer learning camp ($18 million for three consecutive years
allocated to districts in 21-22)
Current 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) Grant, as appropriate
A draft of the ALSDE Guidance for Summer Programs 2024 can be found below for your review and planning purposes. You will find sample schedules, sample funding sources, assessment details, and so much more. Check it out!
Does your school have professional learning needs?
- In what focus/ content areas have your teachers received professional learning opportunities this school year?
- Has your school experienced growth in these areas?
- Based on current data, what professional learning offering(s) will have the greatest impact on student achievement?
- Have you completed walkthroughs based on professional learning teachers have received? What further support do teachers need from school leaders or the LRS?
- How can the ARI support you? Your school?
March 2-6 is Read Across America week and it’s right around the corner! This is a wonderful time to plan fun and exciting activities. The theme for this year is “Create & Celebrate a Nation of Diverse Readers.” Help your school celebrate the joy of reading with some of the great ideas listed below:
- Host a Story Palooza: Involve parents, community members and students. Here are several ideas to highlight storytelling fun:
- Invite a professional storyteller or a community member.
- Perform a Reader’s Theater featuring students, staff, special guests, or family members.
- Share digital stories and recorded oral histories.
- Utilize guest storytellers virtually.
- Organize guest readers at your school. Reach out to high school sports teams, retired teachers, local firefighters or police officers. Invite them to share their favorite book and love of reading with students!
- Host a book tasting: Set up a cozy cafe setting and serve simple snacks. Allow students to preview books of various genres from a “menu” and select a book of their choice.
- Set up a book scavenger hunt: Have students experience books from different genres by creating a tic-tac-toe board.
- Find a special spot to read: Create inviting spaces in your class for students to snuggle up with a good book. Let's fancy up our book nooks!
- Get to know a book character: Have students complete a character map and dress as their favorite book character. Students can share about their book and character and then participate in a character parade.
- Set Goals: Set school, class, and individual reading goals. Celebrate students and their accomplishments with rewards and incentives.
- Read Across the Great States in America: Choose interesting books from different states and have students color in the state on the map. Use this website to give suggestions of books set in each state in our country.
- Pair Book Buddies: Pair older and younger students together.
Text Dependent Writing:
What is text dependent writing (TDW)? TDW requires students to read a passage and answer questions using evidence from the text to respond through writing. It's important that educators gain a deeper understanding of TDW as assessed on the ACAP Summative. There are several links below that will assist educators as they plan for writing instruction and provide practice opportunities for their students. What coaching efforts have been made in your school to support teachers with incorporating writing on a daily basis?
MEGA Conference 2024
Date: July 8-12, 2024
Location: Mobile Convention Center, 1 South Water St., Mobile, AL
Details: Embark on a transformative journey at MEGA 2024! This year’s theme, Unlocking Potential: The Power of Education, will focus on the profound impact education has on unleashing students’ talents and shaping a brighter future.
Join us July 8-12, 2024, at the Mobile Convention Center for a dynamic exploration of how education can be a catalyst for personal growth and critical thinking skills. This conference will provide a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals passionate about harnessing the power of education. To secure your spot, submit a session application, and get information about local accommodations, please visit the website.
Coaching Community Follow-Up
We have wrapped up a wonderful coaching community! We focused on vocabulary instruction, observed coaching in action, collaborated with other LRSs about our current work and the results-based coaching tool, and practiced the strength-based feedback. Now that you have returned to your schools and had time to reflect on your learning, it’s time to complete the bridge to practice tasks. The tasks are listed below:
Choose at least one Core Component from the Alabama Structured Student-Centered Practice Profile to set a professional goal for growth from the expected column to hone your support during this round of coaching cycles. Collaborate with your principal to increase the measurable impact of student-centered coaching.
- Use the Structured Student-Centered Practice Profile to reflect on your coaching in each of the domains. Use those reflections and choose an area of focus for your upcoming coaching cycle. Create next steps for yourself as a way to improve your coaching.
Partner with a teacher in a Mini or Full Coaching Cycle to co-plan and implement content-specific, grade-level vocabulary lessons using the Explicit Teaching of a New Word routine and/or POSSUM while incorporating layers of language as appropriate. Record your reflections on your Coaching Tool.
- This is a fantastic opportunity to refine your own practices, model science of reading strategies, and provide an instructional tool for your teachers.
Utilize the 2021 ELA COS and ACAP Resources (instructional supports, item specs, blueprints, etc.) in planning with teachers. ACAP 23-24 Resource Google Folder
- Implementing the use of the blueprints and the writing checklist would be a great place to start!