Read2Succeed Plan

South Carolina Department of Education
Read to Succeed Primary and Elementary Reading Plan
2025-2026

 

LETRS Questions: 

• How many teachers in your school have completed Volume 1 ONLY of LETRS? 0
• How many teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS? 6
• How many teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year? 1
• How many teachers in your school are beginning Volume 2 of LETRS this year? 0
• How many CERDEP PreK teachers in your school have completed EC LETRS? 3
• How many CERDEP PreK teachers in your school are beginning EC LETRS this year? 3

 

Section A: Describe how reading assessment and instruction for all PreK-5^th grade students in the school includes oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to aid in the comprehension of texts to meet grade‑level English/Language Arts standards.

Montessori Community School uses a variety of formative and summative assessments to identify students’ strengths and areas for growth. Based on the analysis of these assessments, teaching professionals tailor instruction to meet students' needs in oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Several assessment tools are utilized. For example, FastBridge is used with students in grades K–1 to evaluate foundational literacy skills. i-Ready is another tool that assesses students’ proficiency across all domains of literacy. In addition, educators use assessments embedded in the core literacy curriculum—such as writing prompts, exit tickets, end-of-unit assessments, and performance tasks—to evaluate learning and determine appropriate next steps.

 

Section B: Document how Word Recognition assessment and instruction for PreK-5^th grade students are further aligned to the science of reading, structured literacy and foundational literacy skills.

 

When considering word recognition assessments and instruction, instructors at Montessori Community School evaluate student growth and performance using a variety of tools. One such tool is the IAI for Word Recognition, developed by the state department of education. This assessment is used each semester to determine whether students are making progress toward grade-level standards. Another resource used is the Heggerty assessments, which help measure student growth in phonological awareness. Finally, instructors at MCS utilize formative assessment data to monitor progress in encoding and decoding skills taught and practiced through the UFLI Foundations phonics program.

 

Section C:  Document how the school uses universal screener data and diagnostic assessment data to determine targeted pathways of intervention (word recognition or language comprehension) for students in PreK-5^th grade who have failed to demonstrate grade‑level reading proficiency. 

 

The literacy team and teaching professionals use a variety of universal screener and diagnostic assessment data to determine appropriate intervention pathways. The MTSS team and grade-level teams meet regularly to review this data using a structured protocol, identifying students’ strengths and areas for growth based on the South Carolina state standards. When a student demonstrates a lack of progress, targeted interventions are recommended to address specific gaps in knowledge and understanding. These students are monitored bi-weekly to assess their progress toward meeting grade-level standards. Once the identified gaps are addressed, the student exits the specific intervention. 

 

Section D: Describe the system in place to help parents in your school understand how they can support the student as a reader and writer at home.

 

Our primary and lower elementary teachers send home decodable texts for emerging readers to practice at home. In addition, the reading interventionist and resource teacher provide decodables and worksheets to reinforce the skills students have learned. We also send home the i-Ready Family Report in the fall, winter, and spring to keep parents informed of their child’s progress.All K-3 parents also receive a Read to Succeed Family Letter, translated into 10+ languages, that outlines in family-friendly language: What is the Science of Reading?, What does the South Carolina Read to Succeed Act mean for my student?, How will the school keep me informed about my student’s reading development?, How can I help my student become a good reader?, in addition to a direct link to the CCSD Read to Succeed webpage which includes even more ideas for supporting readers at home.

 

Section E: Document how the school provides for the monitoring of reading achievement and growth at the classroom and school level with decisions about PreK-5^th grade intervention based on all available data to ensure grade-level proficiency in reading. 

 

MCS holds a dedicated monthly MTSS meeting focused exclusively on literacy. During these meetings, we review student data from i-Ready, FastBridge, and formative assessments across all grade levels. We use this data to evaluate the effectiveness of Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III instruction in general education classrooms, reading intervention sessions, and special education settings. Additionally, during PLCs, teachers collaborate with the literacy coach to analyze reading data and identify opportunities to strengthen literacy instruction.

 

Section F: Describe how the school provides teacher training based in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills to support all students in PreK-5^th grade.

 

All primary, lower elementary, resource, and reading intervention teachers at MCS—except for one—have completed the full LETRS training. The remaining teacher will begin their LETRS training this year. Additionally, literacy-focused PLC meetings provide ongoing support to reinforce the concepts taught in LETRS.

 

Section G: Analysis of Data

 

In looking at third grade SC Ready data from 2024 -2025, the percentage of students scoring “does not meet” fell from 14.3% to 0%. The percentage of students scoring meets and exceeds rose from 82.1% to 93.3% from 2024-2025. 

 

 

Section H: Previous School Year SMART Goals and Progress Toward Those Goals

• Please provide your school’s goals from last school year and the progress your school has made towards these goals. Utilize quantitative and qualitative data to determine progress toward the goal (s). As a reminder, all schools serving third grade were required to use Goal #1 (below).

 

 

Section I: Current SMART Goals and Action Steps Based on Analysis of Data

• All schools serving students in third grade MUST respond to the third grade reading proficiency goal. Note the change in language for the 3^rd grade goal to align with the 2030 vision of 75% of students at or above grade level.  Schools that do not serve third grade students may choose a different goal. Goals should be academically measurable. All goals should align with academic growth or achievement. Schools must provide a minimum of two goals.

 

• Schools are strongly encouraged to incorporate goals from the school renewal plan. Utilize a triangulation of appropriate and available data (i.e. SC READY, screeners, MTSS progress monitoring, benchmark assessments, and observational data) to set reasonable goal(s) for the current school year.