Literacy Plan and Cohesive District/School Plan

Well-designed Literacy Plans include short and long-term goals and benchmark indicators for monitoring progress along the way.

School and district plans are cohesive and focused on standards-based curriculum (i.e., Common Core State Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and utilizes current district adopted standards in other content areas). The development of a comprehensive literacy plan for increasing school-wide achievement is a fundamental element of the PCL model. “It is critical that schools have a literacy map that includes both short- and long-term goals. In much the same way as we assess students’ progress, schools need a set of benchmarks that enable them to monitor their own progress according to stand expectations. For instance, by November, we would expect literacy team meetings to be a routine part of the school climate. If this does not occur, then we can work with the school to identify the problem and develop a plan of action for dealing with it.” Benchmark indicators and time lines for implementation of specific components needs to be established. This plan allows the district to monitor and assess its own progress against its own goals and expectations.” (Shaping Literate Minds, 2001, p. 98) Samples of long-term literacy plans can be provided upon request.