Science of Reading 

Background 

We understand that in order for our students to be successful, there must be direct, repetitive instruction of foundational skills. We recognize that this comes from teacher efficacy, providing students with the proper instruction at tiers 1, 2, and 3, with whole classes, small groups, and one on one conferences. However, we also believe in the importance of student choice and voice. We believe in seeing students as readers and writers, no matter where they are in the developmental stages of decoding and encoding. We believe that while the teacher and the school community must create a strong foundational background for students, we must also guide students on their personalized literacy journeys to become lifelong readers and writers. It is for these reasons that we believe our path of literacy instruction- TC units of study in reading writing and phonics, Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, responsive teaching, and direct, repeated instruction and practice of skills–will prove successful for students in the coming years. 

Historical Review of Literacy Curriculum in New Milford Public Schools

In 2017 the district adopted Teachers College Units of Study from Heinemann publications.  This adoption addressed a need to ensure the district utilized a full-fledged curriculum that ensured coherence in the standards and equitable access for literacy instruction for all students.

Before this adoption, elementary teachers utilized Pam Allyn program Core Ready, a series of books that gave educators critical tools for navigating the Common Core Standards effectively, fluidly, and successfully. Using the information presented in the series, educators see how to take complex concepts related to the standards and turn them into practical, specific, everyday lessons)  for reading instruction and Super kids reading program for phonics based instruction.  This approach includes systematic teaching of phonics skills through a cast of characters. In addition, Sitton spelling was used by some teachers for spelling, though not required.

Pam Allyn - had four topics vs any units where teachers freely created curriculum but did not ensure connections to standards and that standard themselves were being taught with clarity and consistently  Super Kids phonics' pace was too slow and did not allow for differentiation according to teacher feedback

Science of Reading 

The Science of Reading is a comprehensive body of research that encompasses years of scientific knowledge, spans across many languages, and shares the contributions of experts from relevant disciplines such as education, special education, literacy, psychology, neurology, and more. The Science of Reading has evolved from a wide span of research designs, experimental methods, participants, and statistical analyses. This conclusive, empirically supported research provides us with the information we need to gain a deeper understanding of how we learn to read, what skills are involved, how they work together, and which parts of the brain are responsible for reading development. From this research, we can identify an evidence-based best practice approach for teaching foundational literacy skills called Structured Literacy 

~ https://journal.imse.com/what-is-the-science-of-reading/

What the Science of Reading is NOT

• an ideology or philosophy

• a fad, trend, new idea or pendulum swing

• a political agenda

• a one-size -fits all approach

• a program of instruction

• a single, specific component of instruction, such as phonics.

Five Features of Effective Professional Learning for Teachers to Support Our Efforts

• Focus on Content (how students learn the content)

• Active Learning (teachers observe, receive feedback, and analyze student work)

• Coherence: PD goals are aligned with the school curriculum and goals

• Sustained Duration: Ongoing throughout the year and beyond

• Collective participation: Teachers from one-grade level participate together to build an interactive learning community