Literacy

The New Bedford Public School District is committed to providing comprehensive, systematic instruction in literacy to all students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 3. The District is also committed to ensuring that older students who have not yet become proficient readers will have access to systematic instruction through a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS).

NBPS has adopted high quality, evidence-based English/Language Arts Curricula at grades K-8, and has adopted a vetted literacy supplement for pre-kindergarten to support early literacy learning. These programs are consistent with the Science of Reading and the Simple View of Reading, which breaks reading down into two major strands, Language Comprehension and Word Recognition. Those strands are further broken into the components or ‘threads’ necessary for skilled reading.

The comprehensive literacy program, HMH Into Reading, used in grades K-5, includes explicit instruction in all areas of the Reading Rope:

Word Recognition:

Phonological Awareness

Decoding

Sight Recognition

Language Comprehension:

Literacy Knowledge

Verbal Reasoning

Language Structures

Vocabulary

Background Knowledge

In addition to HMH Into Reading, the district uses the evidence-based programs Lexia and Heggerty to support learning foundational reading skills. Early Literacy Screening takes place at least 2x per year, and students are provided with tiered intervention as needed. Students in the Middle Schools use StudySynch to deepen their literacy learning, and if they require intervention, programs and support personnel are available.