Moorhead Area Public Schools is committed to improving academic achievement for all students. Our teachers and staff members work together to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be college and career ready. The cornerstones of our strategic plan focus on teacher effectiveness, consistent standards-based curriculum and literacy. The Reading Well Plan supports our strategic priorities by outlining actions to ensure literacy success for all students.
Through a collaborative process involving representatives from across the district, Moorhead Area Public Schools developed its Reading Well by 3rd Grade Plan, which follows guidelines provided by the Minnesota Department of Education. The plan is updated each school year.
According to MN Statute 120B.12, school districts must adopt local literacy plans to have every child reading at or above grade level no later than the end of grade 3. Plans must include a process to assess students' level of reading proficiency, notify and involve parents, intervene with students who are not reading at or above grade level, and identify and meet staff development needs. Once approved, literacy plans must be posted on the district website.
The Minnesota Department of Education provides the following information about the importance of literacy:
Reading well by third grade is one of many developmental milestones in a child's educational experience. Literacy development starts at an early age and is the basis for all academic success. Reading well by grade three ensures that students have a solid foundation of literacy skills to continue to expand their understandings of what they read, make meaning, and transfer that learning across all subject areas. Instruction that provides the basis for all students to read well by third grade and beyond will help close the achievement gap and ensure that all students are ready for the demands of college and the workplace. From cradle to career, a sustained effort to create quality literacy environments in all of our schools and programs from birth through grade 12 promotes academic success.
Moorhead Area Public Schools invites feedback from all stakeholders on the K-3 Literacy Plan. Input will be sought through building Parent Teacher Advisory Councils (PTACs), the district's Instruction and Curriculum Advisory Council (ICAC), the district website at www.moorheadschools.org and via email to info@moorheadschools.org. The district's annual report will provide information about the plan and feedback process. The feedback from all stakeholders will be used to enhance the usefulness of this document and refine the effectiveness of the process.
Read the Moorhead Area Public Schools Local Literacy Plan.