Billerica Public Schools

Literacy Plan
2009-2010

It is the goal of the Billerica Public Schools to implement a literacy program

that meets the diverse needs of its students. Program goals include
developmental, accelerated, and preventive reading instruction that will
ensure that students can read on grade level before entering Grade 3, along
with the ongoing diagnosis and acceleration of reading performance of all
students in all grade levels. These goals are consistent with and in support of
the following District Goals for the Billerica Public Schools:

• Have all students demonstrate measurable and continuous growth

toward meeting and/or exceeding grade-level standards.
• Increase the percentage of students scoring proficient/advanced on
MCAS.
• Sustain a culture whereby Professional Learning Communities will be
effectively supported.
• Provide opportunities for the creation, implementation, and analysis of
common assessments to improve instructional practice.
• Provide a meaningful professional development calibrated to the needs
of the educational community.

The Billerica Public Schools Literacy Plan is designed so that every student will:

• Receive reading instruction which reflects best teaching practices;

• Be assessed regularly to plan for instruction;
• Read fluently on grade level before entering Grade 3;
• Receive appropriate intervention and remediation services as needed, Grades K-12;
• Learn strategies for reading complex content area texts;
• Improve performance in reading on district and state-mandated tests;
• Read a required minimum number of books during specific time periods to assure
development and maintenance in reading fluency.

Our current school system has many strengths, and a large percentage of our students
learn to read at the appropriate level. Each school, however, has a number of students who do
not learn to read on grade level. To address this need, the Billerica Public Schools must
restructure some of our current literacy instruction, focus our resources on proven practices, and
implement a district-wide literacy assessment system which would inform instruction and
indicate the need for and effectiveness of interventions.

LITERACY IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 5

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the past seven years, Billerica has implemented a Balanced Literacy program
for reading and writing instruction beginning in Kindergarten. A Balanced
Literacy Model ensures that all students have a variety of scaffolded literacy
experiences that work towards independence. The Balanced Literacy model is
designed to support students’ reading and comprehension skills through a process recognizing
each student’s unique developmental stage. These stages are identified through the periodic
administration of the DRA and QRI assessments. Once completed, the assessment results are
reviewed by teachers through the lens of “age and stage” benchmarks based upon guided reading
levels established by the literacy researchers, Fountas and Pinnell. These results then inform the
instructional decisions that teachers must make for each student in the classroom, using, as the
foundation of that instruction, the appropriate leveled books from the classroom-leveled library.
This process, coupled with the introduction of literature primarily through “shared reading” and
“read alouds” from the literature anthology, forms the basis of the Balanced Literacy model
adopted by the Billerica Public Schools.

Learning Experiences in a Balanced Literacy Program

During Interactive Read Aloud, the teacher reads and scaffolds
experiences for students to develop their thinking and talking around text
(comprehension). Texts for Interactive Read Aloud may be well above the
students' independent reading levels, but within their listening
comprehension level.
During Shared Reading experiences, the teacher models, and then guides
students to try the strategy for themselves. Texts at this level are often
within the instructional level of most of the class so that students may
practice the strategy, and think through a section for understanding. It is
important to remember that some students will not be able to access the
selected text at their instructional level. These students will need proper
supports to complete the lesson. For these students, it is critical that
additional experiences be provided so that they may utilize the taught
strategy while actually decoding text. Small Group instruction and
Independent Reading are designed for these purposes.
During Small Group experiences such as guided reading and literature
circles, students do most of the reading while the teacher acts as a guide in
navigating strategies and comprehension. Texts at this level must be within
the students' instructional reading level. Short texts work well for guided
reading.
During Independent Reading, students do all of the reading and practice
using all of their strategies independently. The teacher acts as a coach
helping students with specific needs and interests by conferring with those
students individually. Texts for Independent Reading are at the students'
independent reading levels.

Instructional Groups in a Balanced Literacy Program

Varying the way in which students are grouped for instruction is necessary to encompass

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different learning styles as well as methods of delivery. Students may be grouped according to
ability and/or interest. On any given day, students are instructed in a variety of groups. Flexible
grouping lends itself well to the development of the child and to different teaching styles.

Whole group instruction is suitable for reading and writing with children. The teacher
demonstrates and models for the whole group. Participation by the students is encouraged.
Shared reading and writing may also be delivered using whole group instruction.

Small group instruction is delivered to a portion of the class. Students may be grouped
according to ability, interest, text level and needs for instruction. Small groups are flexible,
constantly changing to meet the needs of the children.

Independent instruction - allows children opportunities to practice and problem solve using
known strategies with either new or familiar material.

LITERACY IN GRADES 6-8

Students at the middle school level are provided with rich opportunities for reading across the
curriculum within all of their classes. In addition, the sixth grade, students are provided with
three blocks of reading instruction per week. This past year, reading teachers in conjunction with
English Language Arts teachers created an integrated curriculum in which the reading teachers
provide support through the content of the ELA curriculum. In seventh and eighth grade,
struggling readers are provided with additional reading support in smaller groups. Title I reading
support is also in place for students requiring extra reading instruction. Students are identified as
needing this extra support through the use of the Metropolitan assessment.

LITERACY IN GRADES 9-12

Literacy at the high school level is characterized by the integration of literature, writing, and
language study in a comprehensive program which presents—by genre—a variety of literature
and which introduces students to the concepts and vocabulary of literary discourse. Through
examination of these literary works—in discussion and in written response—thinking and
communication skills will be developed, as will students’ appreciation of the author’s craft and
the rewards of reading. By studying literature - through reading, writing, and discussion -
students become better equipped to deal with the ideas in the world around them. The ideas
expressed in literature are relevant to students’ lives. Writing at this point is focused on writing
for a purpose: expressing their thought and opinions, expressing different perspectives,
responding to challenges, researching and writing about their positions and overall developing
their ability to communicate in writing as they approach adulthood.

SUMMER READING PROGRAM

Billerica Public Schools maintains a district-wide summer reading program, and will continue its
to do so along with other supplementary reading programs to aid students who are struggling to
remain on grade level in reading. Community and parent involvement should be solicited to
provide reading enrichment opportunities to all students, focusing primarily on those with
academic needs.

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The summer reading program for elementary students is voluntary, with incentives given
for students who read at least five books. We emphasize to parents that the important point to
keep in mind is that reading is a powerful way to keep young minds engaged, particularly over
the long summer, and that by reading books recommended here, or books of their own choosing,
students will continue to be thinking, imagining and learning new skills important to their future
success.

All middle and high school students are required to participate in the summer reading
program. This provides them with valuable opportunities to engage in productive, academic
activities over the long summer months. The summer reading program is intended to expose
students to quality literature that they may not encounter during the regular school year, and to
help students perceive a link between the end of one school year and the start of another in terms
of academic expectations. It is intended to be one of the many positive and productive activities
students engage in throughout the summer.

TITLE I

The Title I program in the district will continue to focus on literacy instruction. Funding
formulas should be modified to provide necessary resources to assure that all students read
fluently at grade level before entering Grade 3.

INSTRUCTIONAL TIME

The District must make a strong commitment to dedicating a specific portion of daily
instructional time to literacy. Students in grades K-3 must receive 120 minutes of consecutive,
uninterrupted hours of language arts/reading instruction daily. Students in grades 6 should
receive formal reading instruction as well. Students in all grades should have a daily independent
reading homework assignment, assuring that students and their families also make a time
commitment to literacy.

RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION

All of the Billerica schools have student assistance teams or child study teams that come together
with the purpose of helping students who are struggling both academically and socially. This
year, 2009-2010, a more formal system of Response to Intervention (RtI) will be implemented at
the Kennedy Elementary School, which will use literacy issues as its base for indentifying
students who may require interventions to be successful in school. The Kennedy has
transformed their student assistance team into a problem solving team. They have established a
school-wide behavioral management plan, and are in the process of codifying tiered
interventions for literacy. At least two other schools in the district will prepare for
implementation of RtI in 2010-2011.

BILLERICAREADS.ORG
The district, with the assistance of a Billerica English teacher, has designed a
website that provides the entire community with information about reading
in Billerica. The introductory paragraph on the website reads “For those of
you new to this site: This is a web site for and about the Reading Program in

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the Billerica Public Schools. It's designed for elementary reading teachers,
students, and parents. It belongs to all of us.” As of today, over 38,000
people have accessed this site since its inception. Parents, students and
teachers turn to the site whenever they have questions related to the
reading program in Billerica.
CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING

For students to be successful, they must be engaged in their learning process. Engagement occurs
when students are in a low-risk environment with an individual they trust, and with experiences
they believe are meaningful and attainable.

It is the teacher's responsibility to provide such a climate where students:

• have the resources they need to support their learning

• watch and listen as their teacher and others demonstrate what good reading and writing
looks like and sounds likes.
• see models (newspapers, fiction/nonfiction, poetry, flyers, pamphlets, posters).
• work with their teacher to analyze examples of different reading and writing genres so
they know how to be successful when they read and write.
• are held accountable for those things they are able to do independently
practice reading and writing, applying what they have learned.
• are given feedback which refines their learning

If we have these conditions in classrooms, we will have successful learners.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING

The teacher provides time, choice and response:

• time to: practice, share, discuss, analyze, think and revise.

• choice of: topics, materials, people to work with, location and ways to share learning
• response from: teacher, peers, materials/technology, parents and others.
______________________________

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In order to implement this plan the district must provide extensive staff development focusing
on effective literacy instruction at all grade levels, as well as in a standardized benchmark
assessment system which will have the effect of unifying both baseline data about student
progress, and the means by which the district evaluates programs and instruction.

Professional Learning Communities:

In an effort to increase student achievement and learning by tapping into local expertise and
knowledge professional learning communities (PLCs) have been established. At the elementary
level, the work of these PLCs is to consider areas of weakness as determined by examining
MCAS data and local assessments, and address these areas by creating goals which are grounded
in increasing student learning with a focus on results. Many of the issues addressed by the work

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of the elementary PLCs are grounded in improving literacy. The middle schools have recently
reviewed and revised their English curriculum; this should provide the basis for analysis of
literacy in PLCs at that level as well.

In-Service Course Opportunities Currently Offered:

Instructional Decision Making in Guided Reading, Grades K-5

Description: This course is designed to support elementary teachers grades
K through grade 5 in implementing guided reading as a core instructional
technique as part of Balanced Literacy. This course will discuss and reflect
on the careful decision making teachers must do to make their guided
reading sessions effective. Topics will include assessment, grouping, text
selection, observing readers, and scaffolding learning among others.

Instructional Decision Making in Guided Reading Part II, Grades K-5

Description: This course is designed to support elementary teachers who
have previously taken guided reading courses and would like to improve
their techniques in implementing guided reading as a core instructional
technique as part of Balanced Literacy. Topics will include assessment,
grouping, text selection, observing readers, and in the moment scaffolding
among others.

Improving Comprehension Strategies with Literature Circles

Description: This course will explore ways that elementary and middle
school teachers can use literature circles to teach and reinforce
comprehension strategies. Discussion topics will include: social skills;
classroom discussion; scaffolding; guided practice; and assessment. Course
participants will design literature circle instruction to be used in their
classrooms.

MELA-O Instruction
Description: The MELA-O (Massachusetts English Language Assessment –
Oral) is a classroom assessment tool designed to evaluate the English
language comprehension (listening) and production (speaking) skills of
limited English proficient students, also known as “English Language
Learners” in grades K-12. This training is a 10 hour course presented on
video by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Participants will learn the components of the MELA-O and its usefulness. A
state calibration test is given at the end of the course and participants who
pass are listed by the state as a QMA (Qualified MELA-O Administrator) and
are then qualified to use the tool.

Incorporating Differentiated Instruction into the Understanding by Design Framework

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Description: Together we will explore how best to meet the needs of all
students in our classes by tailoring curriculum, instruction and assessments
that take into account the differences in the ways our students learn. This
course is designed for people who either have had previous Understanding
by Design (UbD) courses and wish to expand their use of the framework
incorporating Differentiated Instruction (DI), or for people who are new to the
concepts and wish to learn and utilize both of these to inform curriculum
development, instructional strategies and assessment. Participants will be
actively working on designing a unit which reflects their understanding of
UbD and DI.

ON-GOING AND FUTURE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

Phonemic Awareness Kindergarten Grade 1 and Grade 2 Teachers

Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken words are composed of a limited number
of identifiable, individual sounds (or phonemes). Children in the beginning stages of learning to
read should be taught to recognize and manipulate onsets (the beginning consonant sound of a
word or syllable) and rimes (everything in the word after the initial consonant sound). As
children learn to use letters to represent words, they need to think about the sounds that compose
the words. Research shows that phonemic awareness is the most powerful predictor of success in
beginning reading, and for most children, a necessary prerequisite for learning to read. In fact,
children who do not develop phonemic awareness do not go on to learn how to read. Billerica
has recently adopted a new phonics program which will be used in Grades K-2. The teachers
will receive training in the implementation of the program this fall (September 15).

Reading Recovery for Selected Grade 1 Teachers

The Reading Recovery program in the Billerica Public schools has proved successful with many
students throughout its history. This program of highly intensive, individual reading instruction
requires continual staff development to maintain the current level of service, and to meet
growing needs.

Leveled Literacy Intervention

One major critical issue for the Billerica School District centers on the need
for the design and delivery of a tiered literacy curriculum and a
commensurate, standardized means of assessment which would provide a
systemic form of early intervention for children who experience difficulty in
the early grades, and which would prevent or reduce what are referred to as
preventable reading difficulties. Much research has established the link
between early reading difficulties and a consequent lack of
performance/success throughout a student’s education. An early intervention
program—a leveled literacy intervention program—would be supplemental to
the current forms of literacy instruction currently employed to enable
students to achieve grade-level performance, and would enhance the
district’s current efforts to implement Response to Intervention. This
intervention would be provided by classroom teacher in conjunction with a
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school’s reading specialists. We are interested in addressing this critical
issue, through this grant, in the following ways:

• By continuing with our Reading Recovery Program which has been in

existence for eight years here in the district;
• By introducing what is called the Leveled Literacy Intervention
program (Fountas and Pinnell) as a means of Tier I and/or Tier II
intervention
• By standardizing our K-8 assessments through the introduction and
implementation of Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment
System.

In addition to our Reading Recovery program, enhanced efforts in early

literacy intervention such as Leveled Literacy Intervention and a systemic,
standardized benchmark assessment system are needed for small groups of
children who need intensive support in order to achieve grade-level
competencies. We will be seeking to establish a partnership with Lesley
University for the express purpose of providing professional development for
those programs.

Literacy Strategies and Best Practices for Kindergarten through Grade 12 Teachers

All teachers need training in integrating instruction to include shared reading, guided reading,
literature grouping, independent reading, shared and interactive writing, independent writing, and
intervention activities and strategies.

Six-Trait Analytic Writing Model

Teams of teachers have researched and assessed the strengths of several

writing programs in an attempt to improve the current district curriculum.
Currently, one school is piloting a combination of several curricula, including
Six-Trait Analytic Model, Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop, and John Collins.
The development of this curriculum is in line with the Massachusetts State
Frameworks and the Billerica Standards Based Report Card. Teachers have
also developed common assessments and rubrics for monitoring student
growth in writing. This comprehensive approach may serve as a model for
further development of the district’s writing curriculum.

Assessment Techniques and Strategies for All Teachers

All teachers should be able to regularly assess student reading difficulties and strengths in order
to provide appropriate instruction to meet individual needs. At present, the district is relying
upon the DRA in Kindergarten through Grade 2 and the QRI in Grades 3-5. The district,
however, in an attempt to standardize its assessment system is seeking to institute Fountas and
Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System. As circumstances allow, appropriate training in
assessment will be provided. This includes Guided Reading Assessment Procedures, Running

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Records, Anecdotal Records, and all other local common assessments.

Best Practices in Literacy for Administrators

Several effective in-service models provide principals and other administrators with strategies to
assess and modify their schools' reading programs. In addition to staff development, the
implementation of a successful literacy plan requires the modification or addition of several
programs.

Content Area Reading Instruction

Students must receive instruction in reading strategies in order to meet the unique requirements
of the individual subject area. Because FCAT makes students accountable for reading
comprehension in the content areas, teachers of content area courses will receive professional
development in the critical reading strategies that are effective in their subject areas.

Standards-Based Report Card

Standards-Based Report cards (SBRCs) have been implemented for Kindergarten through Grade
3. Next year, SBRCs will be implemented in Grades 4 and 5, and following that the district will
move into the middle school. Throughout the implementation process, grade-level teachers have
met to discuss the report card, the standards, the rubrics, and what exactly constitutes
demonstrated proficiency. This, of course, has a particular bearing on literacy. The entire basis
for the standards-based report card is to ensure that the particular skills needed for literacy are
addressed, and assessed along a continuum that monitors student progress.

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COMPONENTS FOR EFFECTING CHANGE IN LITERACY INSTRUCTION

As we begin to look for ways to strengthen reading instruction and student learning as a district,
the following are key areas of focus:

1. Teacher Knowledge and Instructional Practices

• Phonemic Awareness Training

• Training in Effective Literacy Instructional Strategies
• Training in Effect Literacy Assessment Methods
• Training in Selection and Implementation of Effective Materials

2. Administrator Knowledge and Effective Practices

• Training in the Reading and Language Arts Content Standard

• Instructional Leadership in Literacy Program
○ Daily Schedule Includes 120 minutes of literacy.
• Effective Literacy Instructional Materials are Consistent School-wide and Aligned with
District Curriculum

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 • Articulation and Assessment of Literacy Program is School-wide

3. District Practice

• District-wide Reading Series and Language Arts Adoption following Extensive

Curriculum Mapping
• Extensive Staff and Facilitator Development in Literacy Instruction at All Grade Levels
and Subject Areas
• Commitment to Effective Intervention for Low Achievers
• Commitment to Focus on Literacy on All Content Areas
• Promotion of Summer Reading Programs
• Promotion of After School Reading Programs
• Grant Writing for Securing Additional Funding

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