Nevitt Forest Elementary School Reading Plan 2025-2026

Five Pillars of Reading Instruction

At Nevitt Forest, reading instruction and assessment are intentionally designed to integrate all five pillars of literacy—oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—so that every student develops the skills needed to meet grade-level South Carolina College- and Career-Ready ELA Standards.

Oral Language

Students’ speaking and listening skills are nurtured daily through interactive read-alouds, collaborative discussions, partner talk, and accountable conversation routines. Teachers intentionally model and scaffold the use of academic vocabulary and complex sentence structures to strengthen oral language, which provides the foundation for reading comprehension.

Phonological Awareness

In early grades and with older students who demonstrate need, explicit phonological awareness instruction is provided through structured routines (e.g., blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds) using Structured Literacy through HMH, UFLI, and Heggerty. Progress is monitored using assessments such as PAST and i‑Ready progress‑monitoring assessments to ensure students are developing the ability to hear and work with the sounds of spoken language.

Phonics

All students receive systematic, explicit phonics instruction aligned to a research-based scope and sequence through our core program, HMH Into Reading, supported by LETRS‑aligned practices. Teachers deliver daily word study lessons that include sound‑symbol mapping, decoding strategies, and word recognition. Diagnostic tools, including the LETRS Phonics and Word Reading Survey, PAST assessment, and LETRS Spelling Screener guide instruction and targeted intervention.

Fluency

Fluency instruction is embedded in guided and independent reading. Students engage in repeated reading, modeled fluent reading, poetry studies, readers’ theaters, and phrase‑cued text practice. Teachers use i‑Ready passage fluency checks to monitor growth and provide timely intervention when needed.

Vocabulary

Explicit vocabulary instruction occurs across all grade levels using the LETRS Vocabulary Routine. Teachers introduce words in meaningful contexts, use morphology instruction beginning in third grade daily using the three-part drill (morpheme cards/affixes → morpheme dictation → assembling complex words) to build automaticity with prefixes, suffixes, and bases, and provide multiple opportunities for practice in reading, writing, and speaking. In addition to classroom vocabulary instruction, a school‑wide academic vocabulary approach is used (e.g., posters in high‑traffic areas with student‑friendly definitions, examples, and visuals). Vocabulary growth is tracked through core program assessments and formative checks.

Comprehension

Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading instruction. Teachers use daily interactive read‑alouds and close reading strategies to model metacognitive thinking, questioning, summarizing, and inferencing. Students apply comprehension strategies in both literary and informational texts across all subject areas, with progress monitored through module assessments, i‑Ready diagnostics, and classroom formative assessments.

Alignment and Materials

Instruction in all five pillars is systematic, explicit, and aligned to the SC College‑ and Career‑Ready ELA Standards. High‑quality instructional materials—including HMH Into Reading, LETRS professional learning, UFLI, and Heggerty—are consistently used to support instruction. Data from universal screeners, diagnostics, and progress‑monitoring assessments ensure that every student receives the appropriate level of support to achieve grade‑level proficiency.

Foundational Literacy Skills (PreK–5)

At Nevitt Forest, word recognition instruction and assessment for PreK–5 are explicitly aligned to the science of reading and principles of structured literacy. Students receive systematic, cumulative instruction supported by high‑quality materials, with data‑driven intervention provided at every grade level.

Instructional Alignment

• K–2 Core Instruction: HMH Into Reading’s Structured Literacy Path provides the foundation, ensuring explicit, sequential instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, encoding, and high‑frequency word recognition. Instruction progresses from simple to complex skills, with decodable readers to promote transfer into connected text.
  
  

• PreK–5 Oral Language & Phonemic Awareness: Daily routines from HMH Structured Literacy as well as Heggerty routines build and reinforce phonological and phonemic awareness skills at all grade levels. In upper grades, UFLI lessons supplemented with Heggerty serves as targeted support for students with continued foundational gaps.
  
  

• Grades 3–5 Advanced Word Recognition: Students transition into multisyllabic decoding, morphology, and word study. For those with continued foundational needs, UFLI Foundations lessons provide systematic intervention aligned to the science of reading.
  
  

• Intervention Across All Grades: UFLI serves as the consistent intervention resource, allowing teachers to deliver structured, research‑based small‑group lessons tailored to diagnostic data.
  
  

Assessment Practices

• Universal Screening: All students are screened three times annually using i‑Ready to measure phonological awareness, phonics, and word recognition.
  
  

• Diagnostics: Students performing below benchmark are assessed with the PAST, LETRS Spelling Screener, and LETRS Phonics and Word Reading Survey to identify precise instructional needs.
  
  

• Progress Monitoring: Tier II students are monitored at least twice monthly and Tier III students weekly, using i‑Ready subtests, decodable checks, and UFLI mastery trackers to ensure responsive instruction.
  
  

Structured Literacy Features

• Explicit, systematic modeling of sound‑symbol relationships.

• Cumulative practice and review to secure mastery.

• Multisensory engagement (oral practice, tapping, word building, dictation).

• Dictation to translate spoken sounds into written words.

• Integration with reading and writing through decodable texts and word study.

• Daily three‑part drills: K–2 focus on phonics (grapheme card review → phoneme→grapheme dictation → cumulative blending). 

• Grades 3–5 incorporate a morphology three‑part drill (morpheme cards/affixes → morpheme dictation → assembling complex words).
  
  

Materials and Resources

• HMH Into Reading (K–2 Structured Literacy Path) for Tier I instruction.

• Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum for daily oral practice across PreK–5.

• UFLI Foundations for targeted intervention across all grades.
  These materials are research‑based, high quality, and fully aligned to SC College‑ and Career‑Ready ELA Standards.

Commitment to Mastery

Through this layered system—core instruction, supplemental routines, and targeted intervention—our school ensures that every student builds automaticity in decoding and sight‑word recognition. This strong foundation supports fluency, comprehension, and lifelong reading success.

Intervention

Nevitt Forest uses a data‑driven system to identify and support students in PreK–5 who have not yet demonstrated grade‑level reading proficiency. Our approach integrates universal screening with diagnostic assessment to determine whether targeted interventions should focus on word recognition or language comprehension.

Universal Screening

i‑Ready Reading Diagnostic is administered three times annually (fall, winter, spring) for all students in grades K–5. This screener provides broad data on student performance in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension. Students scoring below benchmark are flagged for further analysis.

Diagnostic Assessments

• PAST (Phonological Awareness Screening Test) is used when i‑Ready indicates gaps in early literacy or decoding.

• LETRS Phonics and Word Reading Survey pinpoints gaps in letter‑sound correspondences, blending, and decoding patterns.

• LETRS Spelling Screener identifies orthographic and encoding weaknesses that often mirror decoding challenges, guiding instruction in word recognition and spelling.

Determining Pathways of Intervention

Word Recognition Focus

 Students with deficits in phonological awareness or phonics are placed in small-group interventions targeting word recognition using UFLI Foundations with aligned decodable text practice. For students who present broader, multi-skill word-recognition needs or who do not respond to a 6 week UFLI cycle, Voyager Passport serves as the comprehensive Tier 2/3 option. Voyager Passport is delivered in small groups (≈3–5 students) for ≈30 minutes per day, 4–5 days per week, and includes explicit routines for phonological awareness, phonics/decoding, high-frequency words, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, with decodable/controlled text practice embedded in each lesson. Placement is based on screening data and program placement tools; progress is monitored biweekly with program checks and/or curriculum-aligned measures (e.g., iReady CBM’s), and grouping is adjusted accordingly. 

Language Comprehension Focus

Students with adequate decoding but weaknesses in vocabulary or comprehension receive targeted interventions in language comprehension (e.g., explicit vocabulary instruction tied to core texts, sentence-level comprehension work, scaffolded close reading and oral retell/summary routines). Materials emphasize morphology, syntax, and text structure, with brief writing-to-respond tasks to consolidate meaning.

Coordination and Alignment

Intervention plans are developed collaboratively with teachers, interventionists, the instructional facilitator, and the literacy coach to align Tier 2/3 instruction with Tier I scope and sequence. When Voyager Passport is selected, weekly coordination ensures that lesson phonics targets and texts do not conflict with Grade 3 core pacing; UFLI Foundations is used for skill-focused reinforcement of identified subskills so that practice complements, rather than duplicates, Voyager Passport lessons. Schedules, grouping rosters, and progress-monitoring calendars are reviewed every 4–6 weeks to confirm growth and determine continuation, intensification, or fade-out back to classroom supports.

Progress Monitoring and Adjustment

• Tier II: progress‑monitored at least twice monthly using skill‑specific probes from i‑Ready or curriculum‑based measures.
  
  

• Tier III: monitored weekly to ensure growth is accelerated.
  
  

• MTSS/RTI teams meet regularly (every 4-6 weeks) to review assessment data, adjust student groupings, and refine instructional strategies.
  
  

• EdPlan Tracking: All MTSS entry criteria, intervention plans, progress‑monitoring schedules, and outcome data are documented and tracked in EdPlan for school‑wide visibility and fidelity checks.
  
  

• Individualized Reading Plans (IRPs): Students with IRPs are monitored regularly using multiple data sources (i‑Ready domains, diagnostics, CBMs, classroom evidence). Supports are adjusted in EdPlan when progress is insufficient and exited when criteria are met.

Commitment to Responsiveness

 i-Ready universal data are paired with fine-grained diagnostics (PAST, LETRS Phonics, LETRS Spelling) to identify the specific subskills that limit reading. Instructional teams then apply clear decision rules and short feedback cycles to adapt instruction: 

(a) flexible groups are formed by deficit pattern (e.g., phoneme segmentation, vowel teams, morphology) and scheduled for daily Tier 2 (20–30 min) or Tier 3 (30–45 min); 

(b) progress monitoring occurs every 2 weeks for Tier 2 and weekly for Tier 3 using curriculum-embedded checks (UFLI, Voyager Passport) and brief CBMs; 

(c) groups are reconfigured within 48 hours when two consecutive probes show non-response; 

(d) dosage, materials (UFLI Foundations, Voyager Passport), and teacher moves (modeling, corrective feedback, opportunities to respond) are intensified or faded based on data; and 

(e) plans are reviewed every 4–6 weeks in a data meeting to decide whether to continue/intensify/fade.

Decision rules

• Advance: ≥80% on two consecutive probes and classroom generalization evident → reduce frequency or exit to classroom supports.

• Hold & refine: 60–79% or variable trend → adjust prompts/materials, keep dosage, recheck in 2 weeks.

• Intensify: <60% or flat/declining trend → increase minutes or group density; add Voyager Passport for comprehensive Tier 2/3; consider 1:1 UFLI for precision targets.

Supporting Literacy at Home

We provide families with resources, strategies, and ongoing communication to foster literacy development beyond the classroom.

Parent Engagement Resources

• Monthly Title I Engagement Books sent home with guiding questions and literacy activities.

• Parent‑Friendly i‑Ready Reports that explain progress in accessible language with targeted at‑home recommendations.

• “Literacy At Home” tips for parents in the weekly newsletter.

• 60-Second QR Mini-Lessons-Teacher-made clips modeling a skill (chunking big words, context clues, theme). QR codes on newsletters and take-home books.

• Reading Coach Office Hours- Weekly virtual availability times provided by the Reading Coach where parents can join virtually and get help with reading concerns, homework, etc.

• Parent Micro-Courses (4×15 minutes): Zooms on phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension—one skill per week with a printable cheat sheet.

• “Caught Reading @ Home”: Families submit photos of reading in everyday places; winners get a free book on Friday announcements.

Schoolwide Literacy Events and Programs

• Annual Literacy Night with hands‑on strategies and modeled routines.

• Books and Beaks Turkey Trot- Students run to earn books in the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot tradition.

• Parent/Teacher Book Club to model meaningful book discussions that parents can replicate at home.

• One Book, One School event where students in the school are exposed to the same book with activities tailored for each grade level.

• Community members coming in for special “Mystery Reader” experiences

• Reading Road Rally- schoolwide focus on text features during a weeklong scavenger hunt

• Poem in Your Pocket Parade- During the month of February, students have a chosen poem they take with them throughout their day at school. Each time they share it with an adult, they receive a stamp and receive prizes for the amount they collect.

• Buzz’s Book Bracket- During March Madness, 16 picture books are put on a bracket and winners are chosen by classes to compete for Buzz’s Best Book.

• Battle of the Books- Students compete in groups to read books and answer questions about the books.

• Caught Reading Photo Wall- Students are featured as they are “Caught Reading” during their school day and immersed in books. Students are given book tokens for their prize to get a chosen book from the vending machine.

• Buzz’s Birthday Book Coin- Each student receives a coin for the book vending machine on their birthday to select a book of their choosing.
  
  

Ongoing Communication and Tips

Families receive a weekly literacy update in their grade-level newsletter including what the students are currently learning, and how parents can help at home.

Parent Teacher conferences are held 3 times a year to discuss progress of students along with any tips that may help parents support literacy at home. 

Teachers communicate daily with parents via Class Dojo, where newsletters are located, along with the ability for parents to reach out to teachers with any questions or concerns they may have. 

Literacy Tips at Home is a section of the weekly school newsletter where the Reading Coach offers practical, simple tips for parents and caregivers to promote literacy in the home.

Title 1 monthly book distribution includes a parent letter that gives caregivers support in implementing the chosen skill for that text. 

Parent-friendly i-Ready snapshots are paired with a one-page “What this means/What to try at home” handout. 

Commitment to Family Partnerships

Family Literacy Advisory Group. A small Family Literacy Advisory Group meets quarterly with the Reading Coach to review resources, advise on events (e.g., Literacy Night), and co-design new tools (e.g., morphology cheat sheets).

Flexible engagement options. Parent Micro-Courses are offered live and recorded, with morning/evening choices. Materials are available for in-person sessions; recordings and slides are posted with translations.

Community connectors. Partnerships with the public library (cards on site, bookmobile visits), local colleges (education majors as reading buddies), and community organizations (sponsoring book vending tokens, Mystery Reader days) extend access and motivation.

At-home libraries. Title I monthly book bags include a bookmark prompt set and a “read-it-again” routine so families know how to revisit a decodable or picture book with purpose.

Caregiver skill boosters. The four 15-minute micro-courses are paired with one-page cheat sheets (phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension) and a five-item self-check so caregivers can see what they’re already doing well.

Section E: Progress Monitoring

We use a systematic process for monitoring reading achievement and growth at the school level. Decisions about intervention are based on i‑Ready progress‑monitoring data and supported by diagnostics such as PAST and the LETRS Phonics and Word Reading Survey.

Progress Monitoring System

• i‑Ready Reading Diagnostic three times annually (fall, winter, spring) for all students.
  
  

• Students in the bottom 30% are placed in intervention pathways and receive ongoing domain‑specific progress monitoring in i‑Ready.
  
  

• Diagnostics (PAST, LETRS Phonics Survey, LETRS Spelling Screener) further identify skill gaps and guide intervention targets. 

• Tier II: Twice monthly in area(s) of greatest need using i‑Ready skill checks and/or targeted probes.
  
  

• Tier III: Weekly to ensure effectiveness and responsiveness.
  
  

• IRP Monitoring: Students with Individualized Reading Plans have scheduled PM checks aligned to their plan goals; results are logged in EdPlan and shared with families during conferences.
  
  

Decision‑Making Process

Data from i‑Ready, PAST, phonics screeners, classroom assessments, teachers anecdotal notes, and EdPlan PM dashboards are reviewed in MTSS/RTI meetings to guide interventions, movement between tiers, and instructional adjustments. Instruction is adjusted fluidly based on current data to accelerate growth toward grade‑level proficiency. IRP progress is explicitly reviewed during MTS

Teacher Training

Teacher training is grounded in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills.

Current Training Initiatives

• LETRS Training: Evidence‑based practices for teaching PA, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
  
  

• UFLI Training: High‑quality, systematic small‑group intervention.
  
  

• Fluency Modeling & Practice: Mentor Sentence Modeling and a Poem of the Week routine to build fluency and connect to grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension.

• Teachers have the opportunity to go through the Orton Gillingham Comprehensive training.

• Third Grade teachers: Metacognitive awareness PD and coaching cycles to address comprehension skills.

Job‑Embedded Coaching and Support

Purpose: Build teacher capacity and lift student outcomes through side-by-side support, quick feedback loops, and data-driven practice—without adding “one more thing.”

How Coaching Works (Cycle Structure)

• Cadence: 4–6-week cycles per teacher/grade level.
  
  

• Steps: Goal-setting → co-planning → modeling/co-teaching → brief feedback → try-it → reflect/adjust.
  
  

• Frequency: 1 touchpoint per week (30–60 minutes) plus quick hallway/PLC check-ins.
  
  

• Non-evaluative: Coaching is growth-focused and confidential.
  
  

Coaching Menu (Teacher Choice + Need)

• Co-planning: Align lessons, materials, and checks for understanding to standards/data.
  
  

• Live modeling: Coach teaches the mini-lesson or routine while the teacher observes with a look-for card.
  
  

• Shoulder-to-shoulder co-teaching: Split the class or run small groups together to maximize practice.
  
  

• Micro-PD (10 minutes): Bite-size technique boosters during PLCs or before school.
  
  

• Data huddles (15 minutes): Review quick checks/exit tickets/i-Ready to target the next lesson.

Where Coaching Happens

• Tier I (whole-group & small-group): Lesson modeling and shoulder-to-shoulder support in the core block.
  
  

• Tier II/III (intervention): Progress-monitoring set-up, grouping, and high-leverage routines with fidelity.
  
  

High-Leverage Look-Fors (K–5 ELA)

• Explicit objective + success criteria are posted and used with students.
  
  

• Model–Practice–Apply (I do/We do/You do) with think-alouds for comprehension strategy use.
  
  

• Daily decoding routines (e.g., 3-Part Drill) with morphology add-on in grades 3–5.
  
  

• Text work: Decodables (as needed) and complex text for knowledge building; vocabulary is taught explicitly.
  
  

• Fluency: Repeated reading, partner practice, and timed reads tied to meaning.
  
  

• Feedback: Immediate, specific, and task-focused; students get lots of correct practice.
  
  

• Checks for understanding: Quick, visible, and used to adjust instruction on the spot.
  
  

Collaborative Professional Learning

• Vertical Alignment Planning across grade levels to ensure consistent implementation and alignment to SCCCR ELA Standards.
  
  

• Teams review scope/sequence, address gaps, and ensure continuity from PreK–5.

Future PD Focus

• Ongoing PD series on metacognition to strengthen comprehension instruction via explicit modeling and scaffolding of higher‑order thinking during reading.

Commitment to Teacher Growth

NFES invests in teacher learning as the fastest way to raise student reading achievement. Through LETRS), Orton-Gillingham routines, coaching cycles, vertical planning, and school-wide PD, we provide systematic, research-aligned learning that turns into daily classroom practice.

District Analysis of Data

Strengths

• Structured Literacy Implementation: K–2 use the HMH Structured Literacy Path consistently.
  
  

• Multiple Diagnostics: Clear system for the universal screener (i‑Ready) and drill‑down diagnostics (PAST, LETRS Phonics, Spelling).
  
  

• Tiered Supports: UFLI, Voyager Passport, and Heggerty implemented as interventions aligned to the science of reading.
  
  

• Professional Learning: Staff engaged in LETRS; coaching cycles with reading coach, instructional facilitator, principal, and AP, ongoing metacognition PD
  
  

• Family Engagement: Parent/teacher book clubs, Title I books, newsletters, and literacy nights, Reading Coach Office Hours, Micro-Lesson recordings for parents to understand literacy at home.
  
  

Possibilities for Growth

• Fluency Development: Strengthen through structured routines (Mentor Sentences, Poem of the Week, repeated oral reading, readers’ theater).
  
  
  

• Vertical Alignment: Expand beyond foundational skills into vocabulary and comprehension strategies.
  
  

• Data‑Driven Differentiation: Use i‑Ready & diagnostics to differentiate Tier I instruction, not only assign interventions.
  
  

• Sustainability: Plan for ongoing support post‑LETRS to maintain consistency.
  
  

LETRS Implementation Snapshots

• Completed Volume 1 only: 5
  
  

• Completed Volumes 1 & 2: 17
  
  

• Beginning Volume 1 this year: 3
  
  

• Beginning Volume 2 this year: 5
  
  

• CERDEP PreK completed EC LETRS: 0
  
  

• CERDEP PreK beginning EC LETRS this year: 2

Section H: Previous School Year SMART Goals & Progress

Previous Goal #1

Reduce the percentage of third graders scoring Does Not Meet in Spring 2024 (SC READY) from 31.8% to 15% in Spring 2025.

Progress: Spring 2025 = 18.4% Does Not Meet (↓ 13.4 percentage points; >40% reduction).
Additionally, 50% met or exceeded; 81.6% approached, met, or exceeded.

Instructional Actions Supporting Growth

• Weekly meetings with Reading Coach & Grade 3 team to review data and plan next steps.
  
  

• Targeted small groups in word recognition & comprehension (guided by MAP, PAST, LETRS Phonics Survey).
  
  

• Phonics‑focused intervention for foundational gaps.
  
  

• Coaching cycles and collaborative planning aligned to student needs.
  
  

Reflection
Substantial progress toward the 15% target; strategies accelerated growth and closed gaps. The team will refine approaches to reach the target this year.

Section I: Current Year SMART Goals & Action Steps (2025–2026)

Current Goal #1 — Grade 3 Proficiency

Increase the percentage of third graders scoring Meets & Exceeds on SC READY from 50% (Spring 2025) to 60% (Spring 2026).

Action Steps

1. Implement daily Tier I interactive read‑alouds with explicit comprehension modeling across Grade 3 using the state‑adopted High Quality Instructional Material (HQIM), HMH Into Reading, with fidelity.
   
   

2. Use i‑Ready, PAST, and LETRS Phonics/Spelling screeners to identify at‑risk students; provide targeted intervention via UFLI, Voyager Passport, and Heggerty, aligned to the MTSS process as Tier 2 and Tier 3 actions (with documented entry criteria, progress‑monitoring frequency, and data tracking).
   
   

3. Conduct bi‑weekly data meetings with teachers, interventionists, and coaches to adjust instruction based on progress monitoring.
   
   

4. Provide ongoing PD on metacognitive comprehension strategies and fluency routines (Mentor Sentences, Poem of the Week).
   
   

Current Goal #2 — K–2 Benchmarks

By Spring 2026, increase the percentage of K–2 students scoring at or above grade‑level benchmark on the i‑Ready Reading Diagnostic from 12% to 27% (a +15 percentage‑point gain).

Action Steps:

1. Deliver daily systematic PA & phonics through HMH Structured Literacy (K–2)
   
   

2. Implement HMH Into Reading Structured Literacy with fidelity in all classrooms to build knowledge, genre exposure, and vocabulary through explicit, systematic instruction.
   
   

3. Use i‑Ready domain data to form and update targeted small groups.
   
   

4. Implement UFLI intervention cycles for at‑risk students based on diagnostics.
   
   

5. Progress monitor twice monthly (Tier II) and weekly (Tier III) in i‑Ready skill domains to ensure accelerated growth.
   
   

6. Facilitate vertical alignment sessions to strengthen foundational literacy practices across K–2.