The school district is implementing an initiative in the middle school and high school - grades 6 to 12 -for the purpose of strengthening reading and writing abilities of its students district wide.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Porto, along with English and Special Education teacher Suzan Kos who heads the Literacy Reform Program, gave middle school and high school parents a presentation Dec. 1 on the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) program, a parent-teacher initiative.

The goal of the program is to further increase students' interest in reading while also implementing writing into a daily practice in all classes  including art, math and physical education. 

Kos conducted SRI testing for students grades 3 to 12 and parents will receive their students SRI scores in one to two weeks along with information that explains the Lexile scoring system and what parents can do at home to help their children improve their scores.  

Kos stated that the students responded well to the test and are very open to the program. They observed that students seemed to have found the test more appealing as it was done electronically and they were not asked to sit down and read a book they would not normally choose to read on his or her own time.  
Lexile system

Lexile is a system that measures reading. It's a different way of showing a student what his or her level of reading is that is more positive unlike terms such as "reads below grade 6" which can have a negative effect on a child therefore discouraging his or her willingness to improve.  The goal is to improve a student's score by 50 to 100 Lexile levels.

Lexiles offer " a common scale for monitoring student progress throughout the school year and for his or her entire education. . . A Lexile measure can provide the same continuity for reading growth that families have when they mark a child's height on a wall with a pencil," which is cited in the PowerPoint presentation given. Parents can download the PowerPoint slides on the Board of Education Web site.

To explain the height chart comparison further, Porto asked parents to remember how excited their children were when they saw how much they had grown according to their height charts when they were little. The child was never criticized for being at his or her current height growing up but praise was given when progress was shown. Lexile shows the student its current score and encourages him or her to work to improve it.

Tables were presented which show what Lexile scores may average per grade level in the 50^th percentile for example a student in grade 1 can have a Lexile score of 100 to 300. Students in grade 12 may have a Lexile score of 1000 to 1400.

Kos cited some of the ideas the district has to help students improve their Lexile scores includes:

Support from the public library – Kos says that Mimi Hui, the library director, is already on board to work on getting the Lexile scores of books at the library.

English teacher recommendations – Each English teacher will pick 10 to 20 books in different Lexile levels to be featured as suggested reading material.

Book club pizza parties – An activity for students that would initiate the interest in reading and sharing with their peers in a social environment.

A parent asked what would be done for students who are reading at the 20^th percentile level and Kos confirmed there will be an intervention done for these students for long term improvement. This would be done at elementary level so they are set up appropriately for greater success as they move along through their education.

The use of eReaders may also be used in the case of students who need extra help improving their score and wish to have anonymity in their reading selections not to mention further excite their interest in reading by using a technological device that would be seen by the student as new and trendy.

Porto and Kos pointed out many ways parents can help encourage their children to improve their scores such as reading at home,  or reading out loud from the newspaper at dinner and supporting a child's hobby by inspiring him or her to read non-fiction in that subject.

With the exception of English majors, college required reading is mostly non-fiction, Porto pointed out, and the goal of improving reading scores is to prepare children for the future. The district is working on bringing more non-fiction reading into the schools as well, he added.

Writing initiative

Another part of this initiative is to get students to write in different class environments such as art, math and gym. The philosophy is that writing should be as much a regular practice as speaking is, according to Porto.

"No one asks why they need to speak in class. The same should go for writing," he stated.

Some teachers and students have expressed concern over writing in such classes, texting and emailing Porto stating that they could not understand why they would need to write an essay in gym for example. However Porto stated essay writing will not be the practice nor will there be grading on this type of writing. The idea is to inject the practice of writing into daily class time. Kos confirmed that the English department teachers are already working with teachers in other departments on how to develop methods to bring writing into their daily instruction.

Porto explained that in math class, for example, writing would only be posed as an exercise. Instead of verbally explaining a problem for example, the student can write out the explanation. He explained that the habit of writing daily helps one be a better writer, even if it's not instructive.  This is type of critical thinking that is also key in helping a student improve his or her reading and writing.

Kos added that teachers are working to implement a district-wide standard for writing so that there will be consistency in how to write a thesis statement, creative essay or research paper.

"Forty minutes shouldn't go by without having a student pick up a pen or pencil to write down some type of answer," commented Porto who added that this practice is step one and step two will incorporate time for free writing practices as well.