This year, through our school story scanning process and the results of the Richmond Formative Reading Assessment (RFRA), our staff identified a shared desire to focus on reading comprehension. As a result, a group of DeBeck staff members applied for the District Collaboration Project with a focus on Literacy to support our school’s learning focus. Throughout the year, participating teachers will have dedicated TTOC release time and will receive support from district teacher consultant, Lisa Jeronimo.

Purpose
This project aims to improve students’ literacy comprehension through a team-based approach. Six educators, each with a specific area of focus, will address key components of reading. Together, their coordinated efforts will equip students with the strategies and supports needed to become confident and proficient readers.

Goal
Our goal is to strengthen students’ literacy comprehension by moving beyond surface-level reading. We want students to access and understand information, identify key ideas, summarize effectively, and apply their learning to real-world contexts. Through collaboration and dialogue with peers, students will make deeper connections, broaden their perspectives, and develop a more meaningful and lasting understanding of text.

Action Plan
1.    Build a repertoire of instructional routines and tasks that support students in practicing comprehension skills both orally and in writing.
2.    Receive instructional support from Lisa Jeronimo, who will provide co-teaching or demo lessons and support with planning.
3.    Use TTOC release time to:
o    Work with The Pillars of Literacy to explore comprehension lessons and strategies.
o    Visit and observe classrooms to see strategies in action.
o    Engage in collaborative planning, discussion, and reflection.

This action supports our school’s learning focus in the following ways:

• Collaboration time for teachers to work together to plan for instruction with a focus on comprehension development.

• Explicit teaching of comprehension skills for students with strategies shared in our Pillars of Literacy

• Time to visit other classrooms and work with one of our District Literacy Consultants so we can learn from each other

• Time to share what's working, what's not and what's next.