A Collection of Ideas to Strengthen Your District's Literacy Plan

3rd Grade Literacy GuideReading well by third grade is critical to a student’s future success. Research shows that students who are not proficient in reading by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers.

As a chief academic officer, you know that improving third-grade literacy is more than just implementing a curriculum. System improvement requires an expansive “toolbox” of strategies to build educator capacity, effectively use data, and deliver literacy supports.

That's why we put together a list of 32 ideas and action steps based on our work helping districts meet their third-grade literacy goals. Inside, you'll find tips on:

  1. Equipping schools to build a culture of literacy
  2. Setting and communicating clear goals and benchmarks
  3. Implementing an MTSS or RTI program, plus training staff on data and intervention best practices
  4. Leveraging parents and families to support reading at home
  5. And much more

Download these ideas as a PDF and use them for inspiration as you build or evaluate your district’s literacy plan.