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Literacy Plan

Literacy Plan Young Girl Reading in Library

Orono Schools #278 Local Literacy Plan

Literacy Vision

All students in Orono Schools from birth through grade 12 will become educated citizens with a strong command of literacy that prepares them for the challenges of the 21st century and enables them to achieve their personal and professional goals.

Literacy Beliefs

  • Literacy is the critical foundation for all learning.
  • All students are capable of gaining literacy skills that enable them to be successful as adults
  • Evidence based decision making must be at the heart of all instruction.
  • Instruction must address the full range of learners.
  • A collaborative process for staff enhances individual student learning.
  • All teachers are literacy teachers.
  • Continuous professional development and support structures enable staff to teach our students at a high level in literacy.

Aligned Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

The Orono Literacy Curriculum is built on the foundation of the Common Core State Standards. A scope and sequence articulates the progression within which the standards will be addressed in each grade level. Standards and benchmarks are organized across a continuum, so that learning targets intentionally build as students progress. This continuum outlines the skills and strategies that proceed and follow the standards within a grade level, so that teachers can personalize learning for students based on where they fall within the learning continuum. 

Orono implements a differentiated model for instruction, which incorporates whole group, small group, and individual instructional contexts in order to meet the varying needs of students. This model supports students through the gradual release of responsibility with the ultimate goal of independent application of the skills and strategies necessary to become successful readers, writers, communicators, and thinkers. The effectiveness of instructional strategies is measured by analyzing assessment data on individual students and groups of students within schools and across the district. 

In Orono, we effectively and efficiently use assessments to maximize student learning. These assessments help teachers identify students who are experiencing difficulties, monitor student progress, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and enrichments, and plan instruction to meet the needs of individual students. Our goal is to help all students achieve grade-level outcomes by the end of each year and to maximize and accelerate growth. As teacher teams in Professional Learning Communities, we gather information and use multiple data points to make decisions about grouping students for instruction and investigating what works well for individual students. District-wide assessment resources are used along with classroom common formative assessments to provide teachers with screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring measures to monitor and impact growth.

Our students will maximize their potential in life because of their experiences in Orono Schools. district mission

contact

Aaron Ruhland
Executive Director of Learning & Accountability
aaron.ruhland@orono.k12.mn.us
952-449-8329

Beth Pearson
District Literacy Specialist
elizabeth.pearson@orono.k12.mn.us
952-449-6114