School Reading Plan

Reading is not a naturally acquired skill; it must be explicitly taught through intentional, systematic instruction. While some students learn to read quickly, others require more structured support. Our school’s literacy framework is designed to build proficiency across the five pillars of reading. These include phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, supported by oral language. This comprehensive approach ensures that all students receive high-quality Tier 1 instruction aligned with the science of reading and met grade-level English/Language Arts (ELA) standards outlined by the state.

A foundation for literacy and comprehension, oral language is intentionally developed through daily discussions, questioning, and collaborative activities. Teachers use connected texts to expand background knowledge, model academic vocabulary, and strengthen expressive skills that support both reading and writing. By prioritizing rich conversation and interactive experiences, students build the language structures necessary for academic success.
Using the Heggerty curriculum, all PreK–2 students receive explicit, cumulative instruction in rhyming, blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds. These daily lessons help students develop strong auditory processing skills that are critical for phonics instruction. Teachers monitor progress through quick, informal assessments and adjust support as needed to ensure each child builds a solid foundation for decoding.

Our school implements UFLI Foundations in grades K–2 to provide systematic, explicit phonics instruction. Lessons follow a carefully sequenced scope and sequence designed for mastery of both decoding and encoding skills. Instruction is supported by sound walls, decodable texts, word building, and multisensory routines that reinforce learning. UFLI assessments guide instructional decisions and help tailor small-group interventions.

Students across all grade levels build reading fluency through repeated reading, teacher modeling, and guided practice with grade-level texts. Teachers set fluency goals, monitor oral reading, and provide timely feedback to support growth in accuracy, rate, and expression. These elements are key to improving comprehension and building confident, independent readers.

Vocabulary development is embedded throughout all areas of instruction. Teachers use explicit word study, semantic mapping, morphology, and word-learning strategies to build students’ understanding of academic and content-specific language. Vocabulary growth is monitored through discussions, writing, and comprehension tasks, supporting students as they engage with increasingly complex texts.

As the ultimate goal of reading, comprehension is explicitly taught at every grade level. Teachers model and guide students through strategies such as summarizing, predicting, questioning, and inferring. Through small-group instruction and independent practice, students apply these strategies to demonstrate understanding in speaking, writing, and assessment. Scaffolded support ensures that all learners can access grade-level texts and grow toward reading proficiency.

To ensure instruction is responsive to each student’s needs, we use a comprehensive system of assessments. In the early grades, Aimsweb screening tools help monitor foundational skills such as phonological awareness and decoding, providing timely data to guide instruction. MAP assessments, administered school-wide, offer valuable insight into overall reading proficiency and growth over time. Additionally, district common assessments deliver actionable feedback on key literacy components, allowing teachers to adjust instruction and target specific areas for support. For students in kindergarten through second grade, the Foundational Skills Survey serves as a diagnostic tool to assess mastery of essential early reading skills, ensuring all students are on track to become confident, capable readers.
Together, the five pillars of reading form a cohesive Tier 1 instructional framework that aligns both teaching and assessment with the science of reading and structured literacy practices. This integrated approach ensures that every student at Sand Hill Elementary has the opportunity to develop the oral language, foundational skills, and higher-level comprehension strategies necessary to achieve—and sustain—grade-level reading proficiency.

Word recognition is a cornerstone of proficient reading. Research shows that the reading brain must be “rewired” through instruction aligned with the science of reading (Dehaene, 2009). Gough and Tunmer’s Simple View of Reading (1986) identifies word recognition and language comprehension as the two factors essential for reading comprehension. Word recognition—the ability to read words fluently and automatically—develops gradually through systematic, explicit, and intentional instruction grounded in reading science.

To build strong word recognition skills, students must develop phoneme–grapheme correspondences so they can decode unfamiliar words and encode (spell) words accurately. Automatic word reading requires integrating three processes: mapping sounds (phonemes) to letters (graphemes), connecting pronunciation to spelling, and attaching meaning to words. At Sand Hill Elementary, our core programs—UFLI Foundations and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness—are explicitly designed around structured literacy principles. These programs provide systematic, sequential instruction that benefits all students, particularly those with reading difficulties, by ensuring mastery of foundational literacy skills.

Assessment and Progress Monitoring are critical in aligning instruction to student needs. Universal screeners such as aimsweb®Plus and the Foundational Skills Survey (FSS) help identify students at risk for reading difficulties. Diagnostic assessments further pinpoint skill deficits in phonemic awareness, decoding, and fluency. Teachers use error analysis to design targeted interventions and monitor progress through regular checks of high-frequency word recognition, decoding accuracy, and oral reading fluency rates.

Instruction emphasizes multisensory, cumulative, and explicit strategies that strengthen students’ ability to map sounds to print. For example, tracing letters while saying sounds, or using mouth cards to reinforce articulation, integrates multiple modalities to enhance learning and retention. Structured literacy requires consistent review and practice to ensure students master foundational skills before progressing to more complex concepts. As students’ word recognition improves, instruction transitions to building fluency—reading words accurately and efficiently—so cognitive resources can shift toward comprehension. Within HMH Into Reading, repeated readings and fluency activities are embedded, and teachers track fluency growth through aimsweb®Plus Oral Reading Fluency assessments.

By aligning both assessment and instruction to the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills, Sand Hill Elementary ensures that every student develops the word recognition skills necessary for fluent reading and comprehension.

At Sand Hill Elementary, universal screening and diagnostic assessments are essential for identifying students who are not meeting grade-level reading proficiency and guiding targeted interventions. Our data-driven approach ensures students receive instruction aligned to their specific literacy needs.

In kindergarten and first grade, all students are screened using aimsweb®Plus, which assesses foundational literacy skills including phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. The Foundational Skills Survey (FSS) is administered quarterly to provide additional insights into students’ strengths and areas for growth. These tools allow teachers and the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) team to identify students at risk, track progress, and compare performance to grade-level benchmarks.

Students scoring below the 30th percentile on screeners are flagged for additional diagnostic assessments to determine whether their reading challenges stem from word recognition (decoding, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency) or language comprehension (vocabulary, syntax, background knowledge). Further diagnostic tools, including phonological screeners and foundational literacy assessments, help refine targeted intervention plans.

Because school-wide intervention resources are limited, classroom teachers are primarily responsible for providing Tier 2 interventions. These supports occur in small groups during the reading block and are tailored to each student’s specific needs. For students with decoding challenges who are not enrolled in Read 180, UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) provides evidence-based, small-group instruction to strengthen word recognition skills. Teachers use data from progress monitoring, including aimsweb®Plus, MAP Growth, and other measures, to adjust instruction in real time and ensure interventions are responsive.

In grades 3–5, students who do not meet proficiency benchmarks on SC READY or MAP Growth are placed in Read 180 for intensive support. MAP Growth within Read 180 serves as both a screener and progress monitoring tool, administered three times per year, while the Code Placement Assessment evaluates foundational skills such as letter recognition, high-frequency word reading, decoding, fluency, and morphology to guide instruction.

Weekly PLCs and MTSS team meetings support teachers in reviewing student data, sharing strategies, and making instructional adjustments. While intervention support beyond the classroom is limited, teachers receive guidance and resources from the MTSS team and literacy coaches to maximize Tier 2 instruction and ensure all students receive the targeted support they need.

Through this structured, data-driven system, Sand Hill ensures that every student receives timely, targeted, and effective literacy instruction, even within limited resource constraints, promoting growth toward grade-level proficiency and long-term reading success.

At Sand Hill Elementary, we believe that parents and guardians are essential partners in developing lifelong readers and writers. To build strong home-school connections, we provide families with clear communication, practical resources, and engaging opportunities to support literacy at home.

Teachers use Parent Square and Schoology as primary communication tools, sharing classroom assignments, reading activities, and important updates that help parents stay connected to what students are learning. Classroom newsletters highlight curriculum-aligned activities and literacy tips, while a parent-friendly guide to grade-level reading and writing standards (linked through the Department of Education) provides clear expectations and strategies families can use at home. This guide is made accessible through email, our school website, family events, and parent-teacher conferences.

Parent-teacher conferences are a key component of our literacy partnership. During these meetings, teachers provide personalized progress reports, highlighting each child’s strengths, areas for growth, and specific strategies parents can use at home to support reading and writing development. Families are encouraged to communicate regularly with teachers through email or phone for ongoing, individualized support.
We also provide family engagement events that make literacy fun and accessible:

• Family Literacy Nights feature reading games, storytelling, and writing challenges, giving families hands-on strategies to make literacy part of daily routines.
• Camp Read-A-Lot, held in conjunction with the fall book fair, transforms our school into an interactive, camp-themed reading experience. Activities include reading tents, storytelling circles, and interactive read-alouds. Families participate alongside students, gaining insight into classroom practices and strategies they can replicate at home. Local partners such as the public library and the Parent and Family Engagement Center join us to share free resources, from library cards to digital tools like Rosetta Stone, Leap Frog Systems, and award-winning board games.

To extend literacy beyond the school year, Sand Hill hosts seasonal reading challenges during summer and winter breaks. Students track their reading progress in fun, visual ways, keeping them motivated while at home. Families also have access to online reading platforms including Epic, Sora, and Discus, available through ClassLink with their school login credentials, providing a wide range of digital books for students to enjoy at home.

Through consistent communication, family-friendly resources, and engaging literacy events, Sand Hill Elementary ensures parents are well-equipped to support their children’s growth as readers and writers. By working together, we foster a strong home-school partnership that helps every student reach their full literacy potential.

Sand Hill Elementary uses a systematic, data-driven process to monitor reading achievement and growth for all students within our Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). Teachers and the MTSS Team engage in continuous improvement cycles that include universal screening, diagnostic assessments, ongoing progress monitoring, and formative assessments to ensure every student has the opportunity to reach grade-level proficiency in reading.

Universal screening begins each year with the state-approved aimswebPLUS screener for kindergarten and first grade. In addition, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is administered to students in grades 1–5 three times per year (fall, winter, and spring). These benchmark tools provide grade-level and schoolwide data on reading achievement and growth.

Students identified as at risk through screening are given diagnostic assessments—including phonological awareness, phonics, and spelling screeners—to determine their specific areas of need. From this data, individualized student goals are created, and interventions are designed to target foundational skills and support growth.

Because we have limited personnel available for intervention support, classroom teachers are primarily responsible for providing Tier 2 interventions. These supports typically take place in small groups during the reading block and focus on the specific skill deficits identified through diagnostics and progress monitoring. A limited number of students may receive additional support from the reading interventionist, but the majority of Tier 2 instruction occurs in the classroom setting.

Teachers use progress monitoring tools weekly or biweekly (such as aimswebPLUS measures) to track student growth in areas like phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension. This frequent monitoring allows teachers to adjust small-group instruction in real time and ensure interventions remain targeted to student needs.

Grade-level Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) meet weekly to review progress monitoring data, collaborate on strategies, and determine next steps for students requiring additional support. Teachers share results with the MTSS Team, who provide guidance and assist with problem-solving when students are not making expected progress. Formal data meetings are also held at key points in the year to analyze schoolwide trends and adjust instruction or intervention approaches as needed.

While intervention support is limited, our commitment to data-driven instruction and teacher-led Tier 2 support ensures that all students receive targeted instruction aligned to their needs. This process allows us to maximize available resources, maintain consistent progress monitoring, and keep every student on a pathway toward reading success.

Sand Hill Elementary School is committed to strengthening teacher practice through professional learning grounded in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills. Our training efforts are designed to ensure all teachers have the knowledge, tools, and support to deliver high-quality literacy instruction that meets the needs of every student.

A key component of this commitment is the continued implementation of the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) program. LETRS equips teachers with a deep understanding of how students learn to read, the structure of the English language, and evidence-based instructional practices. Whether teachers are beginning their LETRS training at our school or continuing from another district, they are supported in applying this knowledge to daily instruction with both skill and purpose.

In addition, we are implementing the HMH Into Reading curriculum, which aligns closely with structured literacy and provides a comprehensive framework for teaching foundational skills. To ensure strong implementation, our district’s ELA Curriculum Specialists provide training on curriculum components, instructional strategies, and resources so teachers can confidently apply them in their classrooms.

Because teachers are at different stages in their professional learning, professional development (PD) is differentiated and data-driven. Training is tailored to individual teacher needs, prior experience, and student performance data. This approach ensures that every educator—whether novice or experienced—receives meaningful, relevant support.
To build capacity and sustain growth:

• Mentorship is provided for new teachers, pairing them with experienced colleagues who share strategies and model effective practices.
• Literacy coaching is ongoing, with the school literacy coach conducting regular check-ins, modeling lessons, co-teaching, and facilitating coaching cycles tied directly to student data and instructional goals.
• Targeted workshops and mini-sessions are offered on specific areas of structured literacy and foundational skills. Teacher leaders may facilitate these sessions, allowing staff to learn from one another.
• Collaborative reflection is built into PD, with teachers encouraged to share successes, challenges, and next steps, promoting a culture of continuous improvement.

Professional learning is continuously monitored through student reading data analysis, which drives both instructional decisions and adjustments to training. Coaches and district specialists work alongside teachers to ensure instructional practices remain aligned to evidence-based approaches and responsive to student needs.

Through this multi-layered system of LETRS training, curriculum-based professional development, literacy coaching, and collaborative support, Sand Hill Elementary ensures teachers are fully equipped to deliver effective reading instruction. This commitment not only fosters professional growth for educators but also guarantees that all students develop the foundational literacy skills necessary for lifelong success.