HISD will be reviewing and modifying the district’s literacy plan known as CLASS over the next several months and evaluating individual school programs for effectiveness.

“It really comes down to coherence at the district level,” said Chief Academic Officer Dan Gohl. “In math, there are very few programs and there is a great deal of coherence, so when a child moves from one school to another, they can quickly adapt. This is not true of our literacy programs.”

Gohl and his team will be meeting with principals over the next several months to review their campuses’ literacy programs. Community meetings with local partners, universities, and non-profit groups are already underway to get their thoughts and feedback. This week, leaders from all 282 HISD schools gathered at the monthly principals’ meeting to begin the conversation on what it will take to ensure that all students are reading at or above grade level by the third grade. Principals viewed a quick video that acquaints them with the timeline to review, design, and finalize changes to the district’s literacy plan.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/83870081 width=”600px” height=”330px”]

This video also highlights a pilot program at nine schools that is designed to increase parent engagement, particularly when it comes to their child’s literacy. The program, which is called APTT (Academic Parent Teacher Teams), is being facilitated by the district’s Family and Community Engagement Department.