Read to Succeed

Narrative Responses 
The narrative responses will guide the school in creating one to three goals and developing action steps based on the overall assessment of progress toward implementing Read to Succeed. 

Section A: Five Pillars of Reading Instruction * 

Describe how reading assessment and instruction for all 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. 

School Description of Instruction and Assessments Aligned to the Five Pillars of Reading Instruction

Grades K-1: Students take the STAR Early Literacy Assessment three times a year as a universal screener. 
Grades 1-5: Students take the STAR Reading Assessment three times a year as a universal screener. This data helps identify students who may need further diagnostic assessments for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. 

Additional Foundational Skill Assessments Include: 

• Grades K: Students complete the CORE Phonics and Word Reading Survey three times a year.
• Grades K-5: Students complete the LETRS Spelling Screener three times a year. Grades 1-5: Teachers will administer additional diagnostics based on universal screener and oral reading fluency 

For Comprehension and Oral Reading Fluency: 

• Grades K-5: Comprehension assessments are created in professional learning teams based on state standards and driven by HMH Curriculum. 
• Grades 2-5: Students complete the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency three times a year. Grade 1: Students take the STAR CBM (Curriculum-Based Measurement) to monitor oral reading fluency three times a year. 

Vocabulary:

Vocabulary assessments are currently done formatively by teachers at our school. We have included the Vocabulary indicator as an essential standard for grades 3-5. 

In addition, some examples of progress monitoring data that will be collected are from weekly UFLI assessments, teacher observations, and common formative assessments. Teachers will use the data from these assessments to guide instruction using the HMH Into Reading curriculum. During Professional Learning Team (PLT) meetings, teachers will analyze this data to make instructional decisions for Tier 1, and possibly Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. Teachers will work together across the grade levels to form groups based on needs and strengths, and we will create flexible groups across the grade level. This will help ensure that all our students are receiving targeted instruction that will lead to success. 

Section B: Foundational Literacy Skills, Continued * 

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

School Description of Alignment for PK-5th Grade Students 

FMES has approximately 90 min dedicated to English Language Arts (ELA), which includes reading, writing, and foundational skills. We also have an additional 30 min scheduled for WIN (What I Need Time) daily to provide differentiated instruction. 

We will continue to use the HMH Into Reading curriculum, using its Reading, Vocabulary, and Writing components for grades K-5. For Foundational Literacy skills, we use Heggerty for phonological awareness and UFLI for additional foundational skills. The assessments from HMH, UFLI, and those listed in Section A align with the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills. They support the components of Scarborough’s Rope for Language Comprehension and Word Recognition. 

Section C: Intervention * 

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-5th grade who have failed to demonstrate grade‑level reading proficiency.

School Description of Intervention for PK-5th Grade students Not on grade level

Our district uses a systematic approach to determine student interventions based on Universal Screeners and additional diagnostics as needed. All students take either the STAR Early Literacy or STAR Reading assessments. Based on these results, we decide if further diagnostics are necessary for Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions. Some of the assessments we use to inform these instructional decisions include Heggerty Bridge the Gap, DIBELS, Core Reading Phonics, CUBED 3, PAST, and STAR CBM.

In addition to the Universal Screener, certain grade levels administer Foundational Skills Assessments to all students, providing another tool to guide intervention decisions. Our school’s MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) team analyzes all this data to recommend appropriate Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. 

Section D: Supporting Literacy at Home * 

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. 

School Description of System to support literacy in the home 

The district will keep parents informed about ways to support literacy at home through our district website. Our teachers regularly communicate with parents on how to help their children with reading at home through newsletters, conferences, and phone calls home. Many teachers invite parents to come in to school to attend a variety of experiences such as writing celebrations. Our interventionists also communicate with the parents of the students they serve to provide feedback and support to the parents. We will also be hosting a Title One Literacy Night this fall. During this event, we will include parents in learning experiences that center around reading, writing, and vocabulary. For grades K-1, we are hosting a Coffee and Conversation where parents will learn from our Literacy Coach and interventionists about reading and writing. In this event, we will share ways parents can help at home and they will walk away with a better understanding of what to expect from their child. We also partnered with our county library and offered parents a way to sign up for library cards. As a district, we aim to improve in this area as we continue learning about our new standards, curriculum, and the Science of Reading through LETRS training. 

Section E: Progress Monitoring * 

Document how the school provides for progress monitoring of reading achievement and growth at the school level with decisions about intervention based on all available data to ensure grade-level proficiency in reading. 

School Description of MTSS Progress Monitoring for PK-5th Grade Students

As part of our process for identifying students in the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) framework, we also implement consistent progress monitoring for students in Tiers 1, 2, and 3. Tier 1 and Tier 2: Teachers will use a combination of tools such as STAR, HMH curriculum assessments, UFLI, and other standards-based assessments to monitor progress in grade-appropriate reading skills, supporting overall proficiency. 

Tier 3: Literacy interventionists have additional tools for progress monitoring, including DIBELS, Heggerty’s Bridge the Gap, and STAR. 

Throughout the year, teams will meet weekly during Professional Learning Team (PLT) and MTSS team meetings to analyze data and make instructional decisions for all students. 

Section F : Teacher Training *

Explain how the school will provide teacher training based in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills to support reading achievement for all students. 

School Description of PLO Opportunities 

Our school is currently participating in LETRS training. This includes K-3 teachers, administrators, interventionists, literacy coaches, lead teachers, and SPED teachers. Additionally, our math coach, 3 fifth grade teachers, 2 fourth grade teacher, our ML teacher, and our SLP are also participating. 

For 4th and 5th grade teachers who are not enrolled in LETRS, we are offering a professional learning experience centered around Success Criteria. 

As a school, we will continue to focus on increasing the academic discussions occurring in classrooms. We will be providing PD in our PLT meetings, coaching cycles, and feedback throughout the year to help our teachers and students grow in this area. 

In addition, we have partnered with our state literacy coach to help provide some professional development to our K-2 teachers and interventionists with UFLI to fine tune our phonics instruction. We will also be providing professional development with our 3-5 teachers so they can teach Tier 2/3 using UFLI. I will be taking 4 of our teachers to visit schools in another district to see UFLI in action there as well. 

Section G: Analysis of Data - Strengths *

• K-second grades have all begun to use UFLI for their phonics instruction. 
• K-1 continue to use Heggerty to develop phonemic awareness. 
• SC Ready ELA proficiency, at or above benchmark, has increased from 69.9% (2023) to 73.33% in 2025 at our school. 
• 62.5% of our black population met or exceeded on SC Ready. 
• Our third grade teachers shared all students from across the grade level to teach targeted instruction to students based on phonics data from the LETRs screener. 
• PLT time was devoted to understanding the new standards, creating standards aligned CFAs, and targeting essential standards. 
• Seven staff members, who teach or support ELA, attended a Solution Tree conference on assessment development. 
• Staff attended 5 or more sessions on student discourse throughout the school year and began to incorporate more opportunities for students to have effective conversations in all subject areas. 

Section G: Analysis of Data - Possibilities of Growth * 

Small group targeted instruction for phonics based on weekly progress monitoring.

• Explicit instruction in vocabulary 
• Explicit instruction in grammar 
• Goal setting with students to involve them more in the learning. 
• Find more ways to help our black population grow and learn. 
• Effective use of scaffolds 
• School-Level LETRS Implementation 

How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volume 1 ONLY of LETRS? * 38 
How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS? * 0 
How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year? * 6 
How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 2 of LETRS this year? * 38 
How many CERDEP PreK teachers in your school have completed EC LETRS? * 1 
How many CERDEP PreK teachers in your school are beginning EC LETRS this year? * 0 

Section H: 

2024-25 Previous School SMART Goals and Progress Toward those Goals 

Please provide your previous school 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) 

Previous Goal #1 * 
Reduce the percentage of third graders scoring DNM level in the spring of 2024 as determined by SCREADY from 17.3% to 17% in the spring of 2025. 
Progress of Goal #1 * 
We met our goal. We had 7.7% of our 3rd graders at not met for the spring of 2025. 
Previous Goal #2 * 
75% of our Kindergarten and first grade students will show proficiency on STAR Early Literacy as measured by the end of the school year benchmark. 
Progress of Goal #2 *
We did not meet this goal. 73.51% of our students showed proficiency. 

Section I: 

2025-26 School 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 3rd 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. 

Current Goal #1 (3rd Grade Reading Proficiency Goal Required) 

• Third Grade Goal: Increase the percentage of third graders scoring Meets and Exceeds in the spring of 2025 as determined by SC READY ELA from __% to __% in the spring of 2026. 
• Increase the percentage of third graders scoring Meets and Exceeds in the spring of 2025 as determined by SC Ready ELA from 70.8% to 75% in the spring of 2026. 
• Actions Steps for Goal #1 
• Support teachers with UFLI professional development so they know how to explicitly teach phonics in third grade. 
• Hold high level expectations for all students and provide differentiated instruction and scaffolds for students if needed. 
• PLT discussions to support Tier 1 and 2. 
• Goal Setting with students 
• LETRS professional development 

Current Goal #2

By the Spring 2026 benchmark, 70% of kindergarten and first grade students will score at or above proficiency on the STAR Early Literacy assessment. This reflects an increase from 65.85% of students who scored at or above proficiency on the Fall 2025 benchmark. 

Action Steps for Goal #2 

• More frequent use of progress monitoring of phonics skills in both reading and writing to inform reteaching and enriching groups. 
• More use of varied decodable texts throughout the year. 
• LETRS professional development. 
• UFLI professional development