Blake School District
Board Policy

  BP 6142.91 
Instruction

 Reading/Language Arts Instruction

The Governing Board recognizes that reading and other language arts constitute the basic foundation for learning in other areas of study.  Students should develop an appreciation for literature and for reading as a means to acquire knowledge.  They also should develop oral and written language skills that enable them to effectively communicate with others.

(cf. 0200 - Goals for the School District)
(cf. 6143 - Courses of Study)

The Board desires to offer a comprehensive, balanced reading/language arts program that ensures all students have the skills necessary to read fluently and for meaning.  The program shall integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities in order to build effective communication skills.

For each grade level, the Board shall adopt academic standards in reading, speaking, and writing, including spelling and grammar, that meet or exceed state standards.  The district's program also shall be aligned with the state framework for reading/language arts instruction.

(cf. 6011 - Academic Standards)

Teacher(s) are encouraged to use a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate the needs of beginning readers and the varying abilities of more advanced readers.  

The Superintendent/Principal/Teacher or designee shall participate in professional development opportunities that are designed to provide knowledge about how students develop language skills, the ability to analyze students' developing literacy, and the ability to draw from a variety of instructional strategies and materials.

(cf. 4131 - Staff Development)
(cf. 4222 - Teacher Aides/Paraprofessionals)
(cf. 4231 - Staff Development)

The Superintendent/Principal/Teacher or designee shall ensure that the district's reading/language arts program offers sufficient access to textbooks and other instructional materials of varying levels of difficulty, including fiction and nonfiction works, so that students are continually reading at an appropriate level. In addition, technology should be available to support all areas of literacy.

(cf. 6141 - Curriculum Development and Evaluation)
(cf. 6161.1 - Selection and Evaluation of Instructional Materials)
(cf. 6161.11 - Supplementary Instructional Materials)
(cf. 6163.1 - Library Media Centers)

The Superintendent/Principal/Teacher or designee shall regularly provide the Board with data from state and district reading assessments and program evaluations to enable the Board to monitor program effectiveness.

(cf. 0500 - Accountability)
(cf. 6000 - Concepts and Roles)
(cf. 6162.5 - Student Assessment)
(cf. 6162.51 - Standardized Testing and Reporting Program)
(cf. 6162.52 - High School Exit Examination)
(cf. 6190 - Evaluation of the Instructional Program)
(cf. 9000 - Role of the Board)

Grades K-3

The goal of the district's early literacy program shall be to ensure that students are able to read fluently and at grade level by the end of third grade. To reach this goal, the Superintendent/Principal/Teacher or designee shall design a balanced and comprehensive reading/language arts program with the following components:

1.	Explicit skill development for beginning readers that includes phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding skills, and sufficient practice and repetition of these skills

2.	A strong literature, language, and comprehension program that includes a balance of oral and written language

3.	Ongoing diagnosis of students' skills

4.	An early intervention program that provides assistance to students at risk of reading failure

Grades 4-8

The Board recognizes that reading/language arts instruction is an integral component of the curriculum at all grade levels.  Continuous progress in fluency and comprehension shall be the goal of reading/language arts instruction in grades 4-8.

The program in these grades shall promote reading for subject matter comprehension, developing understanding of progressively more advanced reading material, analyzing and discussing a variety of reading materials, increasing the frequency of reading, developing more complex writing skills with attention to composition and vocabulary, and developing other communications skills.

When students in these grades do not have fully developed reading/language arts skills, the Superintendent/Principal/Teacher or designee shall make resources available to assist them in reaching a reading level sufficient to meet the demands of grade-level material.  

Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
41505-41508  Pupil Retention Block Grant
41530-41532  Professional Development Block Grant
44277  Professional growth activities
44735  Teaching as a Priority Block Grant
44755-44757.5  Teacher Reading Instruction Development Program, K-3
51210  Areas of study, grades 1-6
51220  Areas of study, grades 7-12
51700-51702  Reading First
53000-53006  Comprehensive Reading Leadership Program
60119  Sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials
60200.4  Fundamental skills
60350-60352  Core reading program instructional materials
60605  State-adopted content and performance standards in core curricular areas
99220-99221  California Reading Professional Development Institutes
99230-99242  Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program (AB 466 trainings)
REPEALED EDUCATION CODE FOR CATEGORICAL PROGRAMS
53025-53032  Intensive reading program for grades K-4 
CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 5
9535  Purchase of nonadopted core reading program instructional materials
11980-11986  Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program (AB 466 trainings)
11991-11991.2  Reading First achievement index
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6361-6368  Reading First Program
6371-6376  Early Reading First Program
6381-6381k Even Start Family Literacy Program
6383  Improving literacy through school libraries

Management Resources:
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
Every Child a Reader, 1995
English-Language Arts Framework for California Public Schools
English-Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
Recommended Literature: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GUIDANCE
Guidance for the Reading First Program, April 2002
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education, Reading/Language Arts:  http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/rl
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov

(7/99  7/05)  3/07

Adopted:   January 2008