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Hello Spring!
I hope you were able to enjoy some rest and relaxation over your spring break, and I think we have the cold and snow all behind us now. Spring is in the air...which where I live means smoke from the controlled burns of the prairie...but I also see the trees in bloom and hillsides turning green, children are out playing and spring sports are underway- so here we go into the final weeks of our school year- state assessments, universal screening and MORE!
We also have some very exciting things happening with literacy initiatives in Kansas. Our state was mentioned for doing GREAT work in a recent national podcast, on EdView 360, where Dr. Reid Lyon and Dr. Louisa Moats talked about how to stay the course when making system-wide change based on the science of reading. I have provided below the Ten Maxims, which I had included last year in a newsletter, but am including again since it was part of the podcast conversation! Also, please check below for some new resources for school improvement and opportunities for professional learning this spring and summer.
Please share this newsletter widely and let me know if you have questions or need additional support. If you know of someone who would like to receive this newsletter each month, please let them know they can do that by emailing a request to ELitDyslexia@ksde.gov.
Yours in education
Laurie
Dr. Laurie Curtis
KSDE Early Literacy/ Dyslexia Program Manager
Important Updates from KSDE
Last month I shared with you a page we provided that shared some of our school improvement resources. We have many of our resources all put together and easily accessed off the KSDE Homepage. Please take a moment to locate these resources and look around for not only literacy resources, but other support for the KSDE School Improvement Four Fundamentals. When the Structured Literacy Toolkit is finished...this is where it will live! Check back often as additional resources are added. If you have an idea of a resource that would help you in your work, please reach out and let me know. You can always email me at Laurie.Curtis@ksde.gov.
At the bottom of the column at the right on the home page you will find three buttons. Select the button called School Improvement Resource and explore the top menu bar to access the resources.
⬅️ Look for it here!
Information for Promising Practice
Students who may struggle to learn to read and who are also working to learn English
As you are working to provide additional support for students who are in your school and may be working to learn the English Language while learning to read, the following may provide helpful guidance.
The International Dyslexia Association has a good document to use as a reference if you have one of your students who is struggling with reading acquisition who is also learning English. I have included the document for your reference:
In addition, there are lots of wonderful resources available through the Reading League Compass, selecting the option for English Learners/ Emergent Bilinguals and the Science of Reading
Developmental Language Disorder
Continuing with providing you new or updated information on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), which is a neurobiological disorder affecting the language side of the "reading rope", the following linked page has excellent information provided by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Health Disorders.
Continue in your learning about DLD with this article and then come to our sessions at the KSDE Annual Great Ideas Conference OR participate in upcoming professional development provided in collaboration with our service center partners. Remember these important facts-
DLD is about five times more common than autism
Students with DLD are 4 times more likely to struggle in math and 6 times more likely to struggle in reading
It is thought that about 1 in 14 students have DLD...so we all need to tune in to how it may present in our classrooms and how we can support our students through daily lesson engagement!
Professional Learning Opportunities
Please join us! Check the dates and register!
Our KSDE ELA and Early Literacy/ Dyslexia Teams and other content area teams are very happy to be working on a state-wide collaborative effort with our Kansas Educational Service Center partners to provide ongoing, free professional learning in support of the new KSDE School Improvement Model.
These collaborative sessions are designed for any K-12 teacher, teaching In an accredited school. Registration links are included, so jump in to register as space is limited! Additional dates will be announced soon as we schedule throughout this school year, this summer and next fall!
Cracking the Code: Practical Strategies for Teaching Word Recognition (K-12)
March 31 Greenbush (Girard)
April 3 Orion (Clearwater)
Paused/ USDOE Funding
April 15 Greenbush (Lawrence)
April 22 Southwest Plains (Sublette)
April 24 ESSDACK
For more information and to register see THIS LINK
Empowering Educators: Differentiated Phonics Instruction and Implementing Small Group Instruction
June 3 Greenbush (Girard)
June 9 Greenbush (Lawrence)
June 17 Smoky Hill (Salina)
June 24 Southwest Plains (Sublette)
July 7 ESSDACK (Hutchinson)
July 24 Orion (Clearwater)
For more Information and to register, see THIS LINK
Fluency Matters: Enhancing Educator Expertise In Instruction and Assessment
June 4 Greenbush (Girard)
June 10 Greenbush (Lawrence)
June 26 Smoky Hill (Salina)
July 21 ESSDACK (Hutchinson)
July 22 Southwest Plains (Sublette)
September 17 Orion (Clearwater)
For more Information and to register, see THIS LINK
For English Language Arts Standards Alignment PD, see these links for dates and locations:
ELA Standards and Mini tests/ Interims- Using Data to Help Drive Instruction (Grades 3-12)
Clear, Intentional, and Effective Writing: The Writing Tenets (3-12)
Words, Words, Words: Vocabulary and Morphology (3-12)
Demystifying Reading: Directed Reading Teaching Activity (3-12)
Reasons to Celebrate!
More information can be found HERE. While there, watch the highlight video with Dr. Randy Watson sharing the great things awaiting you this July at the Great Ideas Conference!
Don't Miss Out!
Plans are underway for the KSDE Great Ideas in Education Conference for Building and District Leadership Teams. The Conference will be Monday-Wednesday, July 28-30th. On Tuesday, July 29th, we are offering a one-day registration for our KSDE Literacy Summit, featuring Becca Silver, a coach of coaches! If you are Interested In leveling up your literacy leadership, this day will be a great fit for you! We will highlight sessions for our LETRS facilitators and others who are interested in supporting literacy initiatives in your building and/ or district! If you are on your district leadership team...start the conversation for who is sending in your registration for your entire team!
Best Car Commute Ever!
For some of you who know me, I commute daily from Manhattan to Topeka for my work at KSDE. With all those hours in the car, I have lots of time to listen to some great audio books and podcasts! I had the best commute ever this week as I listened to the EdView 360 Podcast which highlighted two literacy legends, Dr. Reid Lyon and Dr. Louisa Moats. What made it even MORE special is that when asked by the host, Pam Austin, if there were states who were doing things well- and making important strides...the state that was mentioned was Kansas. We were recognized for working hard on valuable literacy initiatives and as they talked about what was going on...collaborative efforts throughout the state- a descriptive reference to the focus of the school improvement model, training in structured literacy/ LETRS, improving with ongoing PD and coaching (hello local LETRS facilitators) and the work being done in our higher education institutions (Literacy Blueprint)...the list goes on. However, I know it is really because of YOU, our educators, who are embracing the work to do what is best for kids- day in and day out. It is with a grateful heart that I thank you for this work. The message in the Podcast was to stay the course, don't look for short cuts...change takes time- no matter how quickly others may want to see change- this is a "marathon", not a sprint. We are doing what is best for kids under the guidance of the Kansas State Board of Education and our dedicated educators and administrators. Well done!
You can listen to the podcast here:
While last year I provided a copy of the 10 Maxims, created by Dr. Lyon, which includes research citations to support each one (found at the end of the article), I wanted to include them again since they were part of the conversation on the podcast! You can find them here:
10 Maxims: What We've Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read
WooHOO Topeka 501!
Congratulations to those educators completing Volume 2!
Topeka 501 has had two recent Cohorts complete their LETRS Training course! Last month I mentioned one of them- and now we have pictures! If you have a cohort completing, please send me a photo- or let me know and we can celebrate your hard work and dedication to learning about the science of reading!
Literacy Lifeline Questions/ Answers
Literacy Lifeline is up and running!
If you have a question about literacy professional practice, or anything else related to improving student literacy learning - the KSDE Early Literacy/ Dyslexia team is here to help! You can ask a question using the linked form below and request it be answered via a Zoom virtual conference/ consulting session, an email, or suggest it as a possible article in this newsletter.
The secret of success is to find a need and fill it, to find a hurt and heal it, to find a problem and solve it. Dr. Robert H. Schiller
If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, please ask them to contact me at ELitDyslexia@ksde.gov to request being added to the Early Literacy/ Dyslexia listserv, or visit the KSDE Dyslexia page and select the purple HERE button and select Newsletter to see the current and past issues.
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