1. “Read by Grade Three” Law
Detroit Public Schools Community District
Dr. Deborah Hunter-Harvill
Board Member
Dr. Nikolai Vitti
Superintendent
Time:
Facilitator’s Notes:

2. The State Literacy in Michigan
NV: Note from Education Trust Midwest. Michigan v. Florida
The State Literacy in Michigan

3. What does the law require the District to do?
“Read by Grade 3” Law
The District
Assess all students in Grades K-3 at least 3 times per year (first assessment occurring in the first 30 days of the school year).
Administer the i-Ready Diagnostic assessment (Beginning in SY 17/18)
Provide an individual reading improvement plan (iRIP) within 30 days of the identification of a reading deficiency (1 year below grade level or more). The plan will remain in place until the student is reading on grade level.
Developed a uniform iRIP template (Beginning in SY 17/18) for students in K-3 who met eligibility criteria based on initial i-Ready Diagnostic assessment performance.
The school must inform the student’s parents in writing if a student is identified as having an early literacy delay or reading deficiency.
Developed a uniform notification letter and set expectation for schools make three attempts to invite parents to a conference prior to sending home iRIP. (Beginning in SY 17/18)

4. What does the law require the District to do?
“Read by Grade 3” Law
The District
Provide a Read at Home Plan for parents of students that qualify for an iRIP
Developed a Read at Home Plan for each of the 5 areas of reading to be provided to parents (Beginning in SY 17/18)
The school must provide intervention and progress monitor the student.
Provided access to i-Ready’s Personalized On-line learning, utilized Tools for Instruction for teacher-led intervention (Beginning in 17/18)
Converted SSA to Para-Educators, provided PD and allocated one Para-Educator per every two classrooms to provide academic interventions.

5. How is my child identified as having a reading concern?
The district utilizes the i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment to measure your child’s reading ability.
The results of the i-Ready Diagnostic allows the District identify students that are one or more year below grade level and provides instructional guidance on how to fill in the gaps for students with concerns.

6. What is an Individualized Reading Improvement Plan (iRIP) and when is it developed?
An iRIP is a plan that outlines your child’s reading concern and the intervention that will be administered to help move your child to grade level reading.
The iRIP is developed following the identification of a reading concern within 30 days of the first i-Ready Diagnostic.
It is developed with the help of teachers, the principal, parent or legal guardian and anyone else that the team agrees needs to be involved.
Your child will remain on an iRIP as long as there is a reading concern.
Your child will be assessed 2 more times through the year to check on their progress.
iRIPs should be updated to reflect the needs of your child.

7. What is the “Read at Home” plan?
A “Read at Home” plan was developed by the district and can be customized to meet each child’s unique needs.
It is designed to support families with efforts to build a culture of literacy with their child at home.
Resources and activities are provided to families at the initial parent conference for students that qualify for an iRIP.

8. How is the District supporting teachers?
Provided professional development on the Common Core State Standards for Literacy.
Provided a seven-week professional learning course on the Foundational Skills of literacy.
Facilitated Parent Academy sessions throughout the city to provide information about K- 3 Reading law.
Adopted new instructional materials, EL Education, a highly aligned core literacy curriculum.
Provided a week-long teacher institute on the new instructional materials.
Developed Master Teacher Initiative to ensure Literacy Leaders are at all schools.
Prioritized a 180-minute reading block in grades K-2, to include 60 minutes of foundational skills instruction and differentiated instruction to address the unique needs of all learners.
Prioritized a 150-minute reading block in grade 3, to include 60 minutes of differentiated instruction.

9. What are the requirements of the “Read by Grade Three” Law beginning in SY 19/20?
“Read by Grade 3” Law
The District Will
Retain students in 3rd grade scoring one grade level below as determined by the MDE on the state ELA assessment.
Notify parents of students “at risk” for retention based on mid and end of year i-Ready Diagnostic results.
Students may be promoted to 4th Grade with Good Cause Exemptions (GCE).
Develop a structure that identifies all students that qualify for a Good Cause Exemption (GCE).
Identify an alternative assessment to support GCE
Develop a portfolio for literacy, science, and social studies to support potential GCE
Develop a clear structure to support teachers and parents requesting a GCE
Note: The state has not yet defined what the MSTEP performance level/score will be that will trigger the retention flag.

10. Three ways to demonstrate “on grade level” reading ability
The student achieves a grade 3 reading score as determined by the Michigan Department of Education based on the reading portion of the grade 3 state English language arts assessment.
The student demonstrates a grade 3 reading level through performance on an alternative standardized reading assessment approved by the Superintendent (iReady).
The student demonstrates a grade 3 reading level through a pupil portfolio, as evidenced by demonstrating competency in all grade 3 state English language arts standards through multiple work samples.

11. My child will be in 3rd grade next year
My child will be in 3rd grade next year? How will I know if my child may be retained?
After the administration of the first i-Ready diagnostic students with reading concerns will be place on an iRIP.
After the mid and end of year diagnostic parents will be notified if the data indicates that their child is at risk for retention under the law.
Your child will take the M-STEP in Spring 2020 of their 3rd grade year.
The M-STEP measures what your child should be able to know and do based on the Common Core State Standards.
Beginning in the 19/20 school year, if your child scores one or more grade level behind the third-grade reading level, then you will be notified by June 1, 2020 that your child may be retained.

12. 2019-20 Good Cause Exemptions
Good Cause Exemptions May Be Granted if:
Student has an IEP
Student has a 504 plan
Student is an English Learner who has had less than 3 years of instruction in an ESL program
A student previously retained and has received intensive reading intervention for two or more years (iRIP).
A student enrolled for less than 2 years and was not provided with an appropriate individual reading improvement plan in previous school.
Student has already repeated Grade 3
Student is proficient in all subject areas assessed on 3rd grade state assessment other than ELA and proficient in science and social studies via student portfolio developed by the teacher.
Parent or Teacher request (within 30 days of notification)

13. When do I need to talk to the school if I don’t agree with the state’s retention recommendation for my child?
Your child’s school and the District will then explore all possible good cause exemptions. For students who do not meet any of the outlined GCEs; parents and teachers have the right to request a GCE within 30 days of notification from the State.

14. How does the District’s K-12 Literacy Plan support and promote literacy?
Let’s Read!
After school tutoring at all schools starting in February
“Rise Up, Read More” Independent Reading Challenge
i-Ready online personalized instructional pathway
myON Digital Library
DPSCD Reading Extravaganza!
Parent Academy Courses focused on Literacy
ELA Master Teachers
Handwriting Instruction
Kids Read Now! All students in Grade 1 received 7 books over the Summer
Oratory/Debate/Essay Contests/Scripps National Spelling Bee Participation