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What is the Allegan County Literacy Initiative? |
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 The Allegan County Literacy Initiative provides the local districts with a common focus and coordinated approach to developing successful readers. All 8 school districts serviced by the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency have agreed to focus on early literacy instruction and assessment. These school districts have adopted:
- Common literacy assessments in grades Pre-K, K, 1, 2 & 3.
- Centralized data collection and analysis.
- Common professional development to focus on literacy.
The Advantages of Working Together in the Literacy Initiative
- Greater capacity to develop expert teachers
- Implementation of a common system for continuous assessment
- Increased sophistication in using assessment results to drive instruction
- Getting community buy-in by sharing results with parents, teachers and administrators and community members
Accomplishments
- Professional Development for over 300 teachers in grade level academies, including research-based strategies for reading instruction
- Pre-K, K, 1, 2, and 3 students assessed each year in emerging literacy skills
- Data collected by the ISD & analyzed by key ISD and district staff
- Principal Academy for K-6 buildings
- Monthly Superintendent Updates & Annual Superintendent Summer Literacy Academy
- Common definition of reading success
- Implementation of intensive strategies for the children who are most at risk for reading failure.
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