Message from Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Marvin Pryor

Dear MMSD Staff,    As we round out the 2020-2021 school year, we have much to celebrate in our progress toward our district strategy of Early Literacy and Beyond! To date, we have engaged 135 Instructional Coaches and 20 district leaders toward their completion of the 100 hours of LETRS training! We have been engaging in conversations to ensure that the Science of Reading is at the core of all of our instructional decisions, resources, and professional learning experiences.  Over the past few months, we have been listening to the voices of our principals and teachers, and have finalized our LETRS training model. In order to be sure that 100% of teachers and staff enrolled in LETRS have adequate time to effectively engage in the learning, we will complete units 1-4 during the 2021-2022 school year, and units 5-8 during the 2022-2023 school year.  We spent a lot of time gathering information from various stakeholders to ensure expectations were reasonable, and that MMSD staff could be successful. We spoke with teachers, coaches, principals, and district office staff. We also worked with Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, and asked questions of other districts who are doing this work.  By limiting the work to units 1-4 next school year, we will be able to provide time during the 2021-2022 year to complete the work, and make connections to classroom practice. There is nothing more important than truly experiencing the LETRS training and applying the learning to classroom practice. Our hope is that teachers find joy in this learning. Please continue reading to find details on who will receive training and when.   Finally, the Literacy Task Force, which is our partnership strategy with UW Madison, is wrapping up at the end of June. I will be sharing their recommendations and findings in our upcoming eBlast editions.    Sincerely,   Marvin Pryor, Ph.D. Chief Academic Officer

Equity in Early Literacy Instruction Podcast Listen to our latest podcast episodes featuring current literacy leaders district wide

Timeline for LETRS training

We are set on a path to change the achievement trajectory of our historically marginalized youth, and thus we will change our community at large. To that end, our senior leadership is working alongside MTI to create spaces for our learning to take place. As we move forward, we will take advantage of the adjusted pacing (four LETRS units per school year) to ensure that all learning occurs within contract time. We are working on creative ways to maximize welcome back, early release days, and time directed by building-level administrators to build a schedule.  We will share with you communication protocols to ensure we are moving forward in unison, as well as ways in which to ask questions you may have related to your learning.   More information on the actual pacing of the work will be available upon your return in the fall. Lastly, our strategy requires planning at the mid and long range. We are planning to train new staff, or staff who change teaching assignments, as part of a yearly cycle. Staff receiving training   We are grateful for the feedback and advocacy displayed by our principals, coaches, reading teachers, and reading interventionists as we engaged in creating our training model. In the fall, we will organize each school building as its own cohort. Each building will have a coach, reading teachers, and reading interventionists who are already half-way through the training. We have done this with great attention to intentionality and as a way to make building-level implementation stronger. The table below explains who will be part of each cohort. Staff listed will engage in the full certified training; this means that each will receive a username and password to engage in the online platform, will work with students for the bridge to practice, and will be part of facilitated training sessions.  Beyond the staff listed on the table, central office teachers, leaders, and administrators will continue their learning on LETRS.

Recommended Literacy Resources

The Science of Reading A Must Read: A Coalition of "Defining Movement' Literacy Experts Aims to Clarify the Science of Reading Early Literacy and Beyond Task Force ICYMI: February Literacy Newsletter Equity in Early Literacy Podcast Series LETRS Program Details and Overview Wright Middle School Principal Dr. Angie Hicks Joins Early Literacy Task Force

MMSD Early Literacy Vision: "To focus on utilizing literacy at every level as an equity strategy to ensure all MMSD students receive high-quality, grade level accelerated instruction.”

For more information about LETRS, email LETRS@madison.k12.wi.us