October 2022
Happy October,
I hope this month's newsletter finds you enjoying the sights and sounds of fall...foliage, football and fall-themed festivities!
If you have specific questions you would like answered relating to identifying or working with our older students who struggle with reading, please send me an e-mail at ELitDyslexia@ksde.org and I will do my best to address your specific questions and/ or concerns. I am in the process of developing state-wide professional learning for this winter (January/ February) for those working with our older students who are struggling to read and I would like it to address any specific questions and/ or concerns you have. If you would like to share something that is working really well for your school in meeting the needs of secondary students- or a creative or innovative way to use scheduling to provide secondary interventions, please reach out to me at the above e-mail and share your experience so we can all learn from one another! Just as we are all learning from Kaley Hildebrand, who is featured below. Kayley implemented some new learning from participating in our Fresh Look at Phonics study this summer- thanks for sharing your experience Kaley!
Please share this newsletter widely and let me know if I can help you in any way,
Yours in education,
Laurie
Important Question!
How does your curriculum address ALL the components/ elements of structured literacy?
Come find out!
There is still time to register!
Structured Literacy: The 90 Minute Block Party
Sessions led by: Hailey Hawkinson, 2nd Grade Teacher & KSDE Teacher Leader Consultant
Target Audience: K-5
Participants will bring along their literacy curriculum and a list of programs/materials available for use in their district. We will be exploring structured literacy elements within your curriculum/materials to highlight "non-negotiables" and gaps within the curriculum.
Register for one of the two locations by selecting the red "Register Here" link.
Hope to see you there!
For more information contact: Laurie Curtis lcurtis@ksde.org
October 10, 2022 Keystone Learning Center (Ozawkie, KS)
http://www.keystonelearning.org
November 14, 2022 USD 466 Board of Education Room at 704 College Street (Scott City, KS)
KSDE has registration open for the Great Ideas in Education: The Art of Teaching Conference held in Wichita, October 19-21.
I hope to see many of you there! Find more information and register by going to this link:
KSDE GREAT IDEAS IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE: THE ART OF TEACHING
Kaley Hildebrand, an educator from USD 444, participated in the KSDE Fresh Look at Phonics (by Wiley Blevins) text-based professional study this summer and is finding success in implementing what she learned!
“I’ve incorporated Dr. Blevins ideas regarding blending lines, including skills introduced the previous week. Modeling a few, and then giving the students a lot of opportunities to “do the work.” The students were struggling to hear the sounds, with short /i/ words. I decided to use these Elkonin sounds boxes for students to hear, count the sounds, and then blend and write the words. We did this with short /a/ words from the previous week as well as the short /i/ words their classroom teacher introduced during the current week. The group as a whole was able to decode and blend those short / i /words with ease when reading a decodable passage and in their leveled readers. All but one student was able to spell the 7 short /i/ words and the reviewed short /a/ words with 100% mastery on their spelling test today. One student spelled all of the short /i/ words and 1 of the two short /a/ words correctly on his spelling test today. In terms of progress monitoring, all showed a positive rate of improvement with their nonsense word fluency this week.”
Thanks Kaley for sharing what is working for you- and your students. You are making a difference!
If you participated in one of our KSDE studies and want to share what you have found helpful to increase student learning- please contact ELitDyslexia@ksde.org.
Back by popular demand!
A Fresh Look at Phonics (revisted!)
ALL ARE WELCOME...Free, except BYOB (Bring your own Book!)
What?: This text-based professional learning opportunity is designed to refresh practice and strengthen understanding for phonics instruction. Due to the popularity and feedback form our summer study, we are this opportunity again to come together with others in the state to examine classroom practice and engage in conversation with others!
When?: 6 weeks on Wednesdays after school 5:00-6:00 CST
Dates: October 26, November 2,9,16,30, December 7
How?: Via Zoom
1-3 hours Graduate College Credit is available through Ft. Hays State University
For additional reading see this ILA Literacy Leadership Brief: Meeting the Challenges of Early Literacy Phonics Instruction by Wiley Blevins
This past month, KSDE provided a late afternoon text-based professional learning opportunity (3 Wednesday afternoons) over the book Shifting the Balance. While not heavily attended, the conversations that were held in the breakout rooms were rich. If you missed this study and are interested in self-study of the book, you may also be interested in the podcasts, which provide brief introductions for "the shifts". You can find those here. We are considering facilitating more of those conversations that would be "drop in" opportunities to come together with others to discuss how the "shift" is working for you and to gain new ideas from others in the field who are working to shift their practice toward a structured literacy model that embraces the science of reading. While it would be helpful for you to have read the book- it isn't a requirement! These conversations would be facilitated by KSDE- but are not a formal presentation. If you would be interested in joining us, please complete the following link to let us know what day or time might work for you and I will work to schedule and promote this opportunity for teachers to engage in professional conversations over shifting the balance of reading instruction to a more structured and explicit instructional model!
Are you interested in doing some additional reading and self-study about the science of reading...or reading and the brain. Check out these suggestions of further reading to help you shift the balance!
An area of focus for some of our offered PD this summer and fall included the importance of decodable texts and their role in really solidifying a student's learning of phonics patterns and/ or orthographic mapping of word patterns. It has been noted that not all decodable texts are "horrible" and not all are "helpful"- that it takes a critical eye to identify which ones truly do support the scope and sequence of the curriculum you are using. If you are interested in investigating some of the sources for decodables, you can find links provided here The Reading League: Decodable Texts. As stated, these still need to be vetted for quality and how they may or may not align to your instruction. If you are interested in investigating further, this gives you a place to start!
Information Regarding the new Alternate Early Literacy Screener
The webinar recording and PPT from the Alternate Early Literacy Screener webinar from September 28th is now available. This year will be a pilot year for the Alternate screener. IDEA Sec. 300.160 Participation in assessments (a) General states: A State must ensure that all children with disabilities are included in all general State and districtwide assessment programs, including assessments described under section 1111 of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 6311, with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments, if necessary, as indicated in their respective IEPs. Due to this regulation, districts must address district assessments for students in grades kindergarten through second grade. If the IEP team has determined that the student with a disability must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular state or districtwide assessment, was that determination made in alignment with the KSDE Dynamic Learning Maps Participation Guidelines for Kansas and does the IEP include BOTH of the following?: (A) A statement of why the student cannot participate in the general state or district assessment; and (B) A statement of why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the student. 34 C.F.R. 300.320(a)(6)(ii), 300.160(c); K.S.A. 72-3429(c)(6)(B). KSDE recommends that districts use the Rubric for Determining Student Eligibility for the Kansas Alternate Assessment (DLM) (PDF) to determine if a students has a most significant cognitive disability that would warrant taking the Alternate Early Literacy Screener. The rubric allows districts to make this decision for students who may not have IQ testing or Adaptive Behavior testing completed yet due to a primary exceptionality of Developmental Disability. Parents need to be informed of the implications of participation in an alternate assessment (Kansas Alternate Assessment Notification (PDF) / Spanish (PDF)). In order to allow districts time to ensure that the IEP correctly reflects that these students will take an alternate district assessment, including why the student cannot participate in the general district assessment and why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the student, this will be a pilot year. Districts should strive to administer at least the end of year screening for those students with a most significant cognitive disability for the 2022-2023 school year.
EOYA reporting:
Current grade (in KIDS) must be Kindergarten, 1stGrade, or 2nd Grade
Field D59 - Approved screeners: 05 –Other (Meets Rubric Requirements)
Field D60 –Dyslexia Subtest: 00 –None, 01 –Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (record spring score for Kindergarten), 02 –Nonsense Word Fluency (record spring score for 1st Grade), 03 –Oral Reading Fluency (record spring score for 2nd Grade)
Field D61 –Dyslexia Spring Performance Level : 0 –Not Assessed, 1 –Below Benchmark, 2 –At or above Benchmark
Please contact Cary Rogers crogers@ksde.org or 785-296-0916 with questions
Teachers- you make a difference as you work each and every day with our students who struggle in reading.
Think of one of your students...this poem may represent who you are in their lives.
I Feel Good
Kind Teacher,
You conquered my fears
that I was dumb.
You focused on my smart strengths
and ignored the rest.
Because of you,
I feel good about me.
By Joanna Fuchs