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 Stanislaus COE 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 Stanislaus County Board of Education recognizes that reading and other language arts constitute the basic foundation for learning in other disciplines. 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. 6143 - Courses of Study)
The County Board desires to offer a comprehensive, balanced reading/language arts program that ensures that 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 strong communication skills.
For each grade level, the County Board shall adopt academic standards in reading, speaking and writing, including spelling and grammar. The districts program shall also 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 County Superintendent of Schools or designee shall provide professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers are knowledgeable about how students develop language skills, are able to analyze students' developing literacy and are able to draw from a variety of instructional strategies and materials.
(cf. 4131 - Staff Development)
The County Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the County Office's reading/language arts program offers sufficient access to reading 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. 6162.7 - Use of Technology in Instruction)
(cf. 6163.1 - Library Media Centers)
Grades K-3
The goal of the County Office'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 County 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 individual students' skills
4. An early intervention program that provides assistance to children at risk of reading failure
Teachers may participate in training activities designed to assist them in implementing a comprehensive K-3 reading program.
Grades 4-12
The County 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, resources shall be made 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.
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 STANISLAUS COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
adopted: February 4, 2003 Modesto, California
revised: August 18, 2008