Check In for MOWR in 2020!

Happy New Year Literacy Colleagues!

As we roll into a new decade, which is hard to believe, January is always a great time to reflect on the literacy practices from the first half of the year and determine what to continue, change, monitor, and/or adjust for the remainder of the school year.

For our kindergarten through 3rd grade students and classrooms, we have hopefully all implemented the following in a rough chronological order.

1. All K-3 students were screened within the first 2-3 weeks of school.
2. All K-3 parents were notified of the MOWR legislation. See sample letter: http://www.azed.gov/mowr/mowr-for-administrators/
3. Students below benchmark were further diagnosed for specific skill deficits in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and/or comprehension, as appropriate per grade level and student.
4. Students diagnosed were then placed into skill-specific intervention groups, not based on a composite score or benchmark level.
5. All parents of K-3 students below benchmark, received a second MOWR notification with a description of the student’s current needs, interventions available to remediate the reading deficiencies, legislative remedial strategies, strategies to support reading proficiency at home, and MOWR promotion/retention legislation. See sample letter: http://www.azed.gov/mowr/mowr-for-administrators/
6. Students in intervention were progress monitored, with an alternate version of the diagnostic assessment to determine skill mastery and next steps.
7. All students were benchmarked in the fall to determine likelihood of meeting next benchmark.
8. The MTSS process then continues for all students, regardless of need.

For more information on these legislative requirements, please review ARS 15-704.

We have approximately 80 weekdays left this school year. With all the other events and festivities thrown in there, as well, let's make every last moment count to the very fullest for our young learners!

Lastly, I want to leave you with the 2019 Move on When Reading Annual Report (link below). Published every December, this document provides an outstanding landscape of reading in Arizona. I hope you take the time to read it and please share it with others. Enjoy.

https://cms.azed.gov/home/GetDocumentFile?id=5dfaafc003e2b31bf039dc43