The Board of Trustees recognizes that reading and other language arts constitute the basic foundation for learning in other areas of study. The Board desires to offer a comprehensive, balanced reading/language arts program that ensures all students have the skills necessary to read fluently and for meaning and develops students' appreciation for literature. The program shall integrate reading and oral and written language arts activities in order to build effective communication skills.
(cf. 6143 - Courses of Study)
For each grade level, the Board shall adopt academic standards that meet or exceed Common Core State Standards in the following strands:
1. Reading: Foundational skills, text complexity and analysis, and the growth of comprehension
2. Writing: Text types, responding to reading, production and distribution of writings, and research
3. Speaking and listening: Oral language development, comprehension, flexible communication, and collaboration
4. Language: Conventions, effective use, knowledge of language, and vocabulary
(cf. 6011 - Academic Standards)
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district's reading/language arts program offers sufficient access to standards-aligned textbooks and other instructional materials. The program shall provide instructional materials of varying levels of difficulty, including fiction and nonfiction works, so that students are continually reading at an appropriate level. In addition, technology should be available to support all areas of literacy.
(cf. 6141 - Curriculum Development and Evaluation)
(cf. 6161.1 - Selection and Evaluation of Instructional Materials)
(cf. 6161.11 - Supplementary Instructional Materials)
(cf. 6163.1 - Library Media Centers)
Teachers are expected to use a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate the needs of beginning readers and the varying abilities of more advanced readers. The program shall provide ongoing diagnosis of students' skills and, as needed, may provide supplementary instruction during the school day and/or outside the regular school session to assist students who are experiencing difficulty learning to read.
(cf. 5148.2 - Before/After School Programs)
(cf. 6174 - Education for English Learners)
(cf. 6176 - Weekend/Saturday Classes)
(cf. 6177 - Summer Learning Programs)
(cf. 6179 - Supplemental Instruction)
The Superintendent or designee shall make available professional development opportunities that are designed to provide instructional staff with knowledge about how students develop language skills, the ability to analyze students' literacy levels, and mastery of a variety of instructional strategies and materials.
(cf. 4131 - Staff Development)
(cf. 4222 - Teacher Aides/Paraprofessionals)
(cf. 4231 - Staff Development)
(cf. 4331 - Staff Development)
The Superintendent or designee shall provide the Board with data from state and district reading assessments and program evaluations to enable the Board to monitor program effectiveness.
(cf. 0500 - Accountability)
(cf. 6162.5 - Student Assessment)
(cf. 6162.51 - State Academic Achievement Tests)
(cf. 6162.52 - High School Exit Examination)
(cf. 6190 - Evaluation of the Instructional Program)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
41505-41508 Pupil Retention Block Grant
41530-41532 Professional Development Block Grant
44735 Teaching as a Priority Block Grant
44755-44757.5 Teacher Reading Instruction Development Program, K-3
51210 Areas of study, grades 1-6
51220 Areas of study, grades 7-12
60119 Sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials
60200.4 Fundamental skills
60207 Curriculum frameworks
60350-60352 Core reading program instructional materials
60605 State-adopted content and performance standards in core curricular areas
60605.8 Common Core standards
99220-99221 California Reading Professional Development Institutes
99230-99242 Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program (AB 466 trainings)
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
11980-11985 Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program (AB 466 trainings)
11991-11991.2 Reading First achievement index
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6381-6381k Even Start Family Literacy Program
6383 Improving literacy through school libraries
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Governing to the Core, Governance Briefs
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
California Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, March 2013
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, August 2010
English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
Recommended Literature: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education, Reading/Language Arts: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl
Policy FORESTHILL UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: August 14, 2017 Foresthill, California