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Hello!
Here we are in December!
Some of you have heard me say that one of the things I miss most about the classroom is the chance to "reset" or "restart" each school year or semester. Whether it is a school year or a semester...or a new year- a new beginning is a chance to pause, reflect, refresh and acknowledge all the things the past year has brought our way. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for doing this good work you have done for our Kansas kids and I wish you the very happiest and healthiest of holiday seasons!
This newsletter is a bit shorter than some, but I wanted to keep on your radar some of the great opportunities for professional learning we have going on around the state. We would love to have you join us to network and learn together.
Please share this newsletter widely and let me know if you have questions or need additional support. If you know of someone who wants to sign up to get this newsletter automatically, each time they are pushed out they can do that by emailing a request to ELitDyslexia@ksde.org.
Yours in education
Laurie
Dr. Laurie Curtis
KSDE Early Literacy/ Dyslexia Program Manager
Important Updates from KSDE
Administering Literacy Assessments for Students with Low Incidence Disabilities and Complex Communication Needs
The KSDE provides guidance for literacy assessments that are done for our students who have low incidence disabilities and complex communication needs. We want to make sure that we provide ALL student with an opportunity to share what they know to the best of their abilities. This document includes guidance information for:
Students who are blind and visually impaired
Students with complex behaviors
Students with complex communication needs
Students with fine and gross motor differences
Students who are deaf or hard of hearing
Students who experience language deprivation
To access the document, select the link below:
If you have additional questions, please contact Cary Rogers at crogers@ksde.org for assistance.
Structured Literacy Instructional Guidelines
The Structured Literacy Instructional Guidelines have been updated and revised and are linked below. Clarification has been provided for the suggested literacy block for our Pre-K students, assuring it is more developmentally appropriate. You will also find updated links for the Kansas Early Learning Standards (2024) and our more recent English Language Arts standards (2023). It is important to note that while guidelines are provided, educators should prioritize using student screening, diagnostic and formative data to assure that the literacy block is aligned to the individual needs of students.
Structured Literacy Instructional Guidelines
Mark your calendars NOW!
Mark your calendars for July 27-30th at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita! We will be moving the KSDE Annual Conference to the summer and strongly encourage systems to send district leadership teams for collaboration opportunities regarding the four fundmentals...which includes structured literacy! Consider blocking this time if you are a literacy leader or LETRS facilator for your district! Please stay tuned for more information and exciting information coming as details are finalized.
Future Dates have already been set for 2026 and 2027!
July 26-29, 2026
July 25-28, 2027
Information for Promising Practice
Developmental Language Disorder
We will continue to provide information about Developmental Language Disorder to inform teachers and administrators of this disorder and how it impacts reading, writing and oral communication. It will be a topic of upcoming professional learning this year through our service center collaborative efforts. Please stay tuned as dates are made available! I have included below a detailed fact sheet as a good resource for PLC discussion and study.
Raising Awareness for Developmental Language Disorder
Professional Learning Opportunities
FREE Professional Learning to Support School Improvement
FREE Professional Learning to Support School Improvement
(Not only free...but you even get a half credit of graduate credit!
Coming to a location near you!
Please CHECK DATES AND REGISTER!
Our KSDE ELA and Early Literacy/ Dyslexia Team 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 professional learning in support of the new KSDE School Improvement Model. These dates have started for ELA and Structured Literacy!
Below are dates for the upcoming sessions for both Structured Literacy and English Language Arts, I've also included a "teaser" of upcoming session topics!
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!
Structured Literacy:
The What, The How, the time is NOW!
January 13th Greenbush (Girard) Register HERE
January 20th Greenbush (Lawrence) Register HERE
January 23rd ESSDACK (Hutchinson) Register HERE
January 24th Orion (Clearwater) Register HERE
January 31st Southwest Plains (Sublette) Register HERE
For more information, see this link:
Structured Literacy: The What and How…the Time is NOW!
NEW TOPICS THIS SPRING for Structured Literacy
Dates and Registration Links Coming Soon!
Data-Driven Success- Unpacking Literacy Assessments for Maximum Impact
Cracking the Code: Practical Strategies for Teaching Word Recognition
English Language Arts:
Text Complexity is the New Black (audience Grade 3-12 teachers)
January 9th Orion (Clearwater) Register HERE
January 27th Greenbush (Girard) Register HERE
For more information, see this link:
Text Complexity is the New Black
NEW TOPICS THIS SPRING for ELA
Dates and Registration Coming Soon!
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)
Reasons to Celebrate!
Woohoo! A new group of LETRS® Local
Certified Facilitators!
KSDE and partnering districts are working to increase the number of local facilitators in order to help systems have more flexibility with training days and locations. Orion Educational Service Center hosted this amazing group of educators as they attended their Unit 1 Facilitator Training with national Lexia LETRS® trainer, Dawn Obermeyer. Janell Neer (TASN) coordinated the event for the educators, who represented 15 districts and 2 educational service centers. Kevin Davis (TASN) leads the management of the cohorts and rostering of participants as we move forward with the KSDE's efforts. The new facilitators, pictured below, are headed out with plans to start training in their districts as soon as they can get it scheduled!
Those new facilitators and existing LETRS® Local Certified Facilitators will be invited to become part of the Kansas Literacy Leadership Cadre which will serve as a conduit between districts and KSDE. Districts with less than 500 students can be connected through the facilitator at a local service center and any of you can always reach out directly with questions by contacting ELitDyslexia@ksde.org!
Please share what you are doing too! If you are aligning your practice with the science of reading and you want to share those amazing evidence-based practices with others, please let me know so we can share the great ideas here! I want to honor and celebrate great things happening in our Kansas classrooms related to literacy learning!
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.
It is the time of gift giving, but you have been giving gifts all year...the gift of learning to read and that will change a child's a life...not just for a "season" but for a lifetime!
Have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!
If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, please ask them to contact me at ELitDyslexia@ksde.org 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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