June-July 2024

Hello,

We are the midst of summer and while schools may not be in session...important things are still happening here at KSDE. We are in the process of creating additional supports for districts related to the new Kansas school improvement model and our new accreditation structures in KESA 2.0. We are preparing for some very exciting professional learning opportunities this fall, and you can learn about some of that below. Starting next month, we will be providing supports for not only structured literacy, but also standards alignment, managing a balanced assessment system and high quality instruction. 

I hope you have an opportunity to get a bit of rest and relaxation over the summer and hope you found a good book to read "for fun"! Lots of hot summer days can be managed by enjoying a cool, comfortable space inside your public library- and possibly there is a summer reading program underway in your community for children. 

If you have questions for our team, or a request for some specific professional learning you feel that would best fit your needs...please reach out and let me know. Our Literacy Lifeline will be up and running as school gets started in August! 

Yours in education

Laurie


Dr. Laurie Curtis

KSDE Early Literacy/ Dyslexia Program Manager

Information for Promising Practice

Talking with Teachers About DLD (Developmental Language Disorder)

This article continues our series of articles about Developmental Language Disorder. Also see below for an outstanding professional learning opportunity this fall as we learn from Dr. Tiffany Hogan, one of the nation's leading researchers about DLD.  Dr. Hogan will provide a webinar for Kansas educators and follow up with a panel discussion with Kansas specialists as we learn together about this important issue! Continue your learning journey with this article: 

Talking with Teachers About DLD

Professional Learning Opportunities

 Virtual professional learning! 

All you need is a book and some time... PD hours documented via KSDE certificate. If you get your book this summer, you can be ready to roll...


Our recent text-based virtual PLC: Structured Literacy Interventions: Teaching Students with Reading Difficulties K-6 was well-received and comes with an amazing Padlet of resources to support your practice of providing interventions to enhance student learning. Sign up yourself or get a group of colleagues to join you as a building-level cohort! 


The Early Literacy/ Dyslexia Team will be offering it again via Zoom but on a different week night this coming Fall/Winter.  The dates are below. Please mark your calendar! This ten-week study (plus an introductory week) will begin September 18th and meet every other week via Zoom on Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 pm, CST. 


Registration will be out later this summer- at the beginning of school! 

DATES for the study: 

September 18

Oct. 2nd, 16, 30

Nov. 13th- no study the week of Thanksgiving

Dec. 4, 18

January 8, 22

February 5, 19

Mark your calendars for an upcoming webinar with national researcher Dr. Tiffany Hogan as we learn about Developmental Language Disorder and how it impacts literacy learning for our students.... how to identify it and what we can do to support ALL students. Join us for a virtual webinar on Tuesday, September 24th from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm and also for the follow-up panel with Kansas educators/ specialist on October 8th from 4:00 - 5:00 pm. Registration will be in next month's newsletter! 

Last year many of you joined us for a study on Wiley Blevins' book called A Fresh Look at Phonics. We will be exploring his brand new book, called "Differentiating Phonics Instruction for Maximum Impact: How to Scaffold While-Group Instruction So all Students Can Access Grade-Level Content (Corwin Literacy) this fall.  If you want a preview about what this book is about, check out his quick video introduction.

Differentiated Phonics for Maximum Impact 


This study will be held weekly for 10 weeks via Zoom, starting September 16, 2024. There is no cost, except for the purchase of the book prior to the study. 


Mark your calendar! All are welcome! 

Registration will be out at the beginning of the school year! 


Dates will include: 

September 16, 23, 30

October 7, 14, 21, 28

November 4,11,18

Reasons to Celebrate! 

LETRS is Better Together!

A team of nine K-5 teachers at Riverview Elementary School in USD 232 decided that teamwork DOES make the dream work! Led by MacKenzie Mayfield, Reading Specialist, this group of dedicated teachers set out to learn together as they began Volume 1 last fall. Meeting every Monday to study, discuss journal entries, and support each other through Bridge-to-Practice exercises, they discovered additional benefits they never anticipated! Not only did collaborating enhance their understanding of the material, but friendships grew and a better understanding of what other grade levels were experiencing was developed. Teacher Becca Van Noordt explained, “I now have a much better understanding as a fourth grade teacher of what must happen in the primary grades in order for students to come to me as strong readers.” And as MacKenzie noted, “We are grateful to our district for valuing this continued education opportunity by allowing pay scale movement for LETRS completion.” A further testament to their dedication? They all have signed up to begin LETRS Volume 2 this summer!



Manhattan, KS LETRS Training- teachers and administrators finishing up Unit 8! Congratulations! 

Tonganoxie teachers finishing up Unit 8 of LETRS! April 19th Congratulations! 

Literacy Lifeline Questions/ Answers

Do you have a question? 

If you have a question when school gets underway about literacy professional practice, analyzing your data... and would like some help in solving it- no worries as the KSDE Literacy Lifeline will be back up and running come August to help you with what is needed! 

KSDE Literacy Lifeline Request Form


Important Updates from KSDE

LETRS®

The Kansas State Board of Education has approved a license renewal requirement for professional learning in the science of reading for those licensed in the state that are working in certain roles in our schools. Those who complete the approved training or pass a science of reading test (that is approved by the Kansas State Board of Education) will meet the requirements for license renewal and receive a "Kansas Seal of Literacy" on their licence. Additional guidance related to the specifics for training and testing will be coming soon.

The Kansas State Board of Education is working to extend the opportunity for funding LETRS beyond this year to help districts meet this requirement. Please look for more information coming regarding this initiative. 

Currently, the January 2025 Cohort registration is open and is funded for any educator across the state. 

To register yourself or your district for LETRS, please contact: 

Kevin Davis (TASN) kddavis@pittstate.edu

Coming in July! 

You may have heard that the KSDE Required Initial Dyslexia Modules that have been used over the past few years have been revised. These modules are required for any teacher who is new to the profession of teaching, or new to teaching in Kansas. These have been updated/ revised and were piloted this past spring. The final edits are completed, recordings are finished and are undergoing final edits and branding- and they are just about ready for use this coming August!  Information on how to access these will be on the KSDE Early Literacy/ Dyslexia page, provided via this newsletter, listservs, and KSDE Weekly in July so you can be ready to use them in your district at the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year. 

There are five modules, which will be recorded separately. The topics are: 

Districts will be provided a detailed facilitation guide, handouts and slide decks to use during training and a resource Padlet. The amount of time the training takes should be comparable to the previous modules. 

Don't miss out on the fun! 

Take advantage of Sunflower Summer...lots of great things to do with families and share these opportunities with those in your community! 

to learn more go to: 

Sunflower Summer

Most of our Early Literacy Dyslexia Team was able to get together with other teams of educators from KSDE mid-June for some good work and goal setting and we all wish you a great summer! (Pictured left to right: Hailey Hawkinson, Melissa Brunner, Mary Larkin, Sam Cool, Laurie Curtis, Katie Orr, DeAnna Frost, Casey Peine, Taylor Fegan- missing current team member, Amy Bybee and former team member, Jeri Powers). 


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.