Cautionary Notice: As added and amended by SBX3 4 (Ch. 12, Third Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2009) and ABX4 2 (Ch. 2, Fourth Extraordinary Session, Statutes of 2009), Education Code 42605 grants districts flexibility in "Tier 3" categorical programs. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has accepted this flexibility and thus is deemed in compliance with the statutory or regulatory program and funding requirements for these programs for the 2008-09 through 2012-13 fiscal years. As a result, the district may temporarily suspend certain provisions of the following policy or regulation that reflect these requirements. For further information, please contact the Superintendent or designee.
The Governing Board recognizes that reading and other language arts constitute the basic foundation for learning in other areas of study. Students should develop an appreciation for literature and for reading as a means to acquire knowledge. They also should develop oral and written language skills that enable them to effectively communicate with others.
(cf. 0200 - Goals for the School District)
(cf. 6143 - Courses 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. The program shall integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities in order to build effective communication skills.
For each grade level, the Board shall adopt academic standards in reading, speaking, and writing, including spelling and grammar, that meet or exceed state standards. The district's program also shall be aligned with the state framework for reading/language arts instruction.
(cf. 6011 - Academic Standards)
Teachers are encouraged to use a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate the needs of beginning readers and the varying abilities of more advanced readers.
The Superintendent or designee shall provide professional development opportunities that are designed to provide instructional staff with knowledge about how students develop language skills, the ability to analyze students' developing literacy, and the ability to draw from a variety of instructional strategies and materials.
(cf. 4131 - Staff Development)
(cf. 4222 - Teacher Aides/Paraprofessionals)
(cf. 4231 - Staff Development)
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district's reading/language arts program offers sufficient access to textbooks and other 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)
The Superintendent or designee shall regularly 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. 6000 - Concepts and Roles)
(cf. 6162.5 - Student Assessment)
(cf. 6162.51 - Standardized Testing and Reporting Program)
(cf. 6162.52 - High School Exit Examination)
(cf. 6190 - Evaluation of the Instructional Program)
(cf. 9000 - Role of the Board)
Grades K-3
The goal of the district's early literacy program shall be to ensure that students are able to read fluently and at grade level by the end of third grade. To reach this goal, the Superintendent or designee shall design a balanced and comprehensive reading/language arts program with the following components:
1. Explicit skill development for beginning readers that includes phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding skills, and sufficient practice and repetition of these skills
2. A strong literature, language, and comprehension program that includes a balance of oral and written language
3. Ongoing diagnosis of students' skills
4. An early intervention program that provides assistance to students at risk of reading failure
Grades 4-12
The Board recognizes that reading/language arts instruction is an integral component of the curriculum at all grade levels. Continuous progress in fluency and comprehension shall be the goal of reading/language arts instruction in grades 4-12.
The program in these grades shall promote reading for subject matter comprehension, developing understanding of progressively more advanced reading material, analyzing and discussing a variety of reading materials, increasing the frequency of reading, developing more complex writing skills with attention to composition and vocabulary, and developing other communications skills.
When students in these grades do not have fully developed reading/language arts skills, the Superintendent or designee shall make resources available to assist them in reaching a reading level sufficient to meet the demands of grade-level material. Staff at all grade levels and in every subject shall take responsibility for supporting and expanding students' literacy skills.
Supplementary Reading Instruction for Grades K-4
When state funding is available, the Board may offer students in grades K-4 increased instructional opportunities before or after school and/or outside the regular school session to assist those students who are experiencing difficulty learning to read and to increase the reading skills and reading enjoyment of all students.
(cf. 0420 - School Plans/Site Councils)
(cf. 5123 - Promotion/Acceleration/Retention)
(cf. 5148.2 - Before/After School Programs)
(cf. 6176 - Weekend/Saturday Classes)
(cf. 6177 - Summer School)
(cf. 6179 - Supplemental Instruction)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
41505-41508 Pupil Retention Block Grant
41530-41532 Professional Development Block Grant
44277 Professional growth activities
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
53000-53006 Comprehensive Reading Leadership Program
60119 Sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials
60200.4 Fundamental skills
60350-60352 Core reading program instructional materials
60605 State-adopted content and performance standards in core curricular areas
99220-99221 California Reading Professional Development Institutes
99230-99242 Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program (AB 466 trainings)
REPEALED EDUCATION CODE FOR CATEGORICAL PROGRAMS
53025-53032 Intensive reading program for grades K-4
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
9535 Purchase of nonadopted core reading program instructional materials
11980-11985 Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program (AB 466 trainings)
11991-11991.2 Reading First achievement index
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6361-6368 Reading First Program
6371-6376 Early Reading First Program
6381-6381k Even Start Family Literacy Program
6383 Improving literacy through school libraries
Management Resources:
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
Every Child a Reader, 1995
English-Language Arts Framework for California Public Schools
English-Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
Recommended Literature: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GUIDANCE
Guidance for the Reading First Program, April 2002
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education, Reading/Language Arts: http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/rl
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov
Policy NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: September 8, 2009 Costa Mesa, California