Red Wing School Board OKs new literacy plan

The Red Wing School Board voted unanimously Monday evening to approve the district’s new literacy plan. As part of Minnesota state legislation, each district is required to outline a plan to have students reading at grade level by the time they’re in third grade.

Teacher on special assignment Brian Cashman presented Red Wing’s plan to the board, adding that most of the state’s requirements were already taken care of by the district’s strategic plan, which was implemented in 2010.

“There’s nothing new in here,” Cashman said.

The plan indicates how the district will meet requirements outlined in the new legislation, including how students will be provided with scientifically based reading instruction, how struggling students will be given extra individualized support through interventions, how assessments will be used to determine proficiency and how teacher training will improve reading instruction. All of that is already in the strategic plan and is currently being implemented in the schools.

The state will also require parents to be notified of student progress at least annually and for the literacy plan to be posted on the district’s website. Cashman said those components are “something new for us.”

“Maybe it will force us to have more continual information with our parents,” Board chairman Mitch Boldt said of the parent notification requirement. “We don’t want to just give negative information or tap them for money.”

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