CCSD's new plan draws a clear line in the sand on literacy

Literacy improvement is Charleston County School District's top priority. We know that reading, writing, speaking and listening are the keys to success, but far too many of our students still enter high school reading below grade level. We must confront and change this brutal truth. Despite an "excellent" improvement rating, national acclaim for our schools and educators, and nearly 800 new students this year, we will not continue to make progress toward our goals without addressing the literacy challenge.

Nothing less than the future is at stake. In order for Charleston County to be an economically viable, world-class community for all citizens, we have to be smart and relentless about giving all students a sound foundation in reading so that they can realize the American dream. This is why we have developed a bold plan, "Accelerated Literacy Pathways," that will aggressively build upon existing literacy reforms and shrink the number of students reading below grade level. It will ensure that instead of promotion, struggling students will enter extended-year programs that encircle them with intensive literacy supports.

How will it work? Students will be screened at critical "gateway" points along the K-12 continuum, starting with early grades. Current kindergarten students who read below grade-level (as measured this spring) will be assigned to the "First Grade Academy" program before moving to first grade. In the spring of 2010, struggling fifth-graders will be assigned to literacy-focused "Sixth Grade Academies" throughout the county.

We know how important it is to reach these middle school students before they transition to high school (middle school literacy and high school dropout rates are strongly related). The First Grade Academy program and Sixth Grade Academies will bring intense supports, proven interventions, effective teaching and extra time (including a summer semester) to the identified students. This full-year approach is what we're calling the "accelerated pathways."

We want to make this easy on students and parents. Everything about the acceleration pathways is positive. We're not holding students back; we're moving them forward with an extra set of hands and supports. While in the literacy pathways, students will also mix with other students for other subjects. And in the early grades, the pathways will simply be located in a student's existing school. Students who move up and onto grade level during the year will exit the pathway.

In order for this to work, we need parents on board. I can't stress this enough. My message to parents is that we are doing our part in addressing this issue head-on -- but please help us with your part, too.

The alternative to the pathways is retention -- and this is a choice that parents will have to make. Starting with our kindergarten and fifth grade classes, we are not going to promote struggling readers.

The good news is that we know a lot more about literacy than we did ten years ago. There is a new body of knowledge that informs our work. We teach, act, and lead based on data. We never guess how literate our students are -- we know exactly how their vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency skills progress throughout the year because we test and re-test frequently. We keep records called "Response to Intervention" in order to know what works for each child. Like doctors with patients, we diagnose symptoms and prescribe treatments to improve the academic health of our students.

When I say "academic health," I want to be clear. In today's society, our graduates simply will not have options unless they can read and write proficiently. But we look at literacy as much more than that -- it's the ability to think, reason and speak critically. It's being able to articulate and advance the issues you care about with the spoken or written word. The new definition of success is the ability to develop intellectual arguments, write a persuasive essay, and/or justify an economic strategy.

In order for this to happen, students must be highly literate problem-solvers with education beyond high school (whether technical college or four-year training). These skills and credentials are essential to a quality life. In the past, these expectations only applied to some students. In CCSD, we are committed to developing all students. All means all.

What a brilliant future it will be when we get this right. That's what the new literacy plan is all about. We must be tough, principled and smart about how to get there. And we need parents and community members to help us draw this line in the sand.

By taking this stand together, we will open the door for a new generation of highly skilled graduates who will make us all proud, possess limitless options and lift up our county to new heights.

Nancy McGinley is superintendent of Charleston County Schools.