The Georgia Early Literacy and Dyslexia Act (GELDA) is designed to improve literacy outcomes for young students, ensuring they can read proficiently by the third grade. School systems are required to meet certain components under this act to support early literacy development. Listed below are the 5 major components that schools must address:

Instructional Materials

To ensure high-quality, standards-aligned teaching and learning, Forsyth County Schools uses the following resources:

FCS ELA Resources

Forsyth County Schools has chosen to "bundle" supplemental programs to create a "principal course of study". These programs have been reviewed and vetted for quality and alignment to foundational reading skills and the Science of Reading (SoR).

Screening

Per GELDA, students are to be administered a universal reading screener three times a year with the first screening occurring within 30 school days of the beginning of the school year. Forsyth County Schools uses i-Ready, which has been approved by the Georgia State Board of Education (SBOE) for this purpose and can be used to identify students that are at risk of not attaining grade-level reading proficiency. We will screen all K-6 students using the i-Ready Reading Diagnostic with Foundational Reading Extension (FRE) and a Fluency Literacy Task three times per year:

#1: August 7- September 5
#2: November 17 - December 19
#3: March 2 - 20

K-3 students will also be administered two additional literacy tasks:

Rapid Automized Naming (RAN) task, and
Pseudoword-Decoding Fluency task

The results of universal screening in foundational reading skills helps identify students who are at risk of reading difficulties and may need intervention

Intervention

Based on the results of Universal Screening, we will follow our MTSS process to identify students in need of intervention. They will receive support that is progressively more specific and intense in addition to their core instruction. The effectiveness of this support will be frequently monitored and reviewed. If students are identified as being at risk of reading difficulties and may need intervention, they will receive direct explicit instruction aligned with the recommendations of the Georgia Department of Education's Dyslexia Informational Handbook. Specific intervention programs will include, but not be limited to:

iReady
Heggerty
Read Naturally Suite
Wilson Reading Systems
SPIRE

Teacher Preparation & Professional Learning

All FCS K-5 Teachers will participate in a state-approved Literacy Professional Learning experience by the end of their first year with Forsyth County Schools. Approved options include:

Dyslexia Endorsement,
Reading Endorsement,
Georgia Learns/Cox Campus Course,
IDA-Approved Dyslexia Course, or
State-Approved Degree Program

Please note that some teachers may have completed one of these requirements prior to the current school year.

Parent Communication

Parents will be provided:

Results from Universal Screening three times per year
Intervention plans and progress
Notification of Participation in SST Meeting, if needed
Supports when Characteristics of Dyslexia (CoD) are suspected
Resources to support literacy at home