2016 VSBA Annual Convention

The Charlottesville City Schools’ Extending the Bridges of Literacy program, the extended school year program, serves the first through fifth grade students across the seven Charlottesville City elementary schools that need additional time immersed in language arts skills, specifically in the area of instructional reading. The Extending the Bridges of Literacy program runs three days a week during the academic school year for a total of thirty weeks, adding an additional twenty-seven days to the normal academic calendar. The ultimate goal of the Extending the Bridges of Literacy paradigm is to increase the overall percentages of students reading, spelling, and writing on or above grade level while minimizing the number of students identified below the twenty-fifth percentile in literacy on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Assessment (PALS) by working in groups no larger than six students per teacher. The instructional objective is to motivate and to inspire students to create student generated projects while being immersed in solid reading and writing instruction tailored to their needs. The presenter will discuss the planning year prior to the implementation, student selection for the program, and how the initial startup of the program is impacting the literacy knowledge of the students involved. Long term plans and community awareness of the program will also be discussed.