Early Literacy

Monona Grove School District is committed to ensure that all students have the early literacy skills to be successful both in and out of the classroom. The information below is intended to inform parents, caregivers, and the community about how the Monona Grove School District is meeting the requirements of Act 20. This legislation aims to improve early literacy outcomes and ensure more students are reading at grade level by the end of third grade. The district is implementing targeted strategies and supports to help students develop strong reading skills, with a focus on providing personalized reading plans and ongoing progress monitoring. By working together with families, the district is committed to fostering reading success for all students.

Act 20 Requirement
All K-3 teachers, principals where there are grades K-3, and reading specialists must begin training on science-based literacy instruction by July 1, 2025. This must be from an approved list.

MGSD Plan
Our elementary principals and district reading specialist will engage in the AIM Pathways to Literacy Leadership training, which is a blend of asynchronous and synchronous learning. This is a Wisconsin Act 20-approved reading training for administrators.

All K-3 homeroom teachers and EL/Special Education/Reading teachers who work with students in K-3 will engage in the Keys to Literacy Training Modules called Keys to Beginning Reading. Teachers must start this training by July 1, 2025 and complete by June 30, 2026. This is a WI Act 20 approved reading training for teachers.

Curriculum & Instruction

Act 20 Requirement
All Wisconsin schools are required to provide science-based early literacy instruction in both universal and intervention settings. Science-based early literacy instruction is defined as the following.

Instruction that is systematic and explicit and consists of all the following:

Phonological awareness
Phonemic awareness
Phonics
Building background knowledge
Oral language development
Vocabulary building
Instruction in writing
Instruction in comprehension
Reading fluency

MGSD Plan
All 4K-5 educators will implement Amplify CKLA. This curricular resource is science-based and includes all of the components of systematic and explicit instruction required in Act 20. Amplify CKLA is at the top of DPI’s list of approved curricular resources. Staff received professional development for the implementation of the resource and have received additional onsite support during the first year of implementation.

Assessments

Act 20 Requirement
Universal Screener:
4K students are to be assessed twice during the school year using aimswebPlus, a fundamental skills screening assessment selected by the DPI. The first is to be completed by the 45th school day and the second by 45 days before the end of the school year.

All K-3 students will engage in three universal screenings during the school year, using aimswebPlus by Pearson.

The first must be before the 45th day of the school year, the second in the middle of the school year, and the third by 45 days left in the school year.

Universal screenings must include phonemic awareness, decoding, alphabet knowledge, letter-sound knowledge, and oral vocabulary.

Diagnostic:
A diagnostic assessment must be used when a universal screening assessment indicates a pupil is at-risk (below 25th percentile). This occurs no later than the second Friday of November for the Fall assessment or within 10 days after the 2nd universal screening. Diagnostic assessments must also be given within 20 days when a teacher or parent suspects a student has characteristics of dyslexia and submits a request.

MGSD Plan
Universal Screener:
Assessment Calendar

All 4K educators will use aimswebPlus screening assessments, selected by DPI as the statewide screener, twice throughout the school year and in accordance with screening windows.

All K-3rd grade educators will use aimswebPlus screening assessments three times throughout the school year and in accordance with DPI published screening windows.

Diagnostic:
Reading teachers, along with the District Reading Specialist, principals and school psychs at each elementary school, will monitor the results of screening assessments to determine, develop, and implement plans to follow-up with additional diagnostic assessment with our K-3rd grade students who fall below the 25th percentile on the aimswebPlus screener.

MG will use the iReady reading assessment along with the iReady Literacy Tasks as the diagnostic assessment.

A legal guardian has the right to submit a request for diagnostic assessment at any time, including the right to request an evaluation through special education.

Family Notification / Communication

Act 20 Requirement
Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, provide parents and families with the results of the reading readiness screener no later than 15 days after the assessment is scored in an understandable format that includes all of the following:

The pupil's score on the reading readiness assessment.

The pupil's score in each early literacy skill category is assessed by the reading readiness assessment.

The pupil's percentile rank score on the reading readiness assessment, if available.

The definition of “at-risk” and the score on the reading readiness assessment that would indicate that a pupil is at-risk.

A plain language description of the literacy skills the reading readiness assessment is designed to measure.

If a child is promoted to 4th grade without completing their personal reading plan, parents must be notified in writing along with a description of the reading interventions that child will continue to receive.

MGSD Plan
Parents/caregivers will receive notification and information about the screening and diagnostic assessment process from both the district and their child’s school through email and newsletter. In addition, specific student result information will be sent directly to families throughout the year, including if additional diagnostic assessment is warranted. If additional diagnostic assessment is warranted, additional information will also follow including those results and specific related instructional planning (Personal Reading Plan).

Personal Reading Plans

Act 20 Requirement
If students are identified as at-risk on a universal screening assessment or diagnostic assessment, a personal reading plan must be created that includes:

The specific early literacy skill deficiencies
Goals and benchmarks for the pupil's progress toward grade-level literacy skills
How progress will be monitored, a description of interventions and additional instructional services being provided
The science-based reading programming the teacher will use
Strategies for the parent to support grade-level literacy skills, and any additional services available and appropriate
Local education agencies (public schools and independent charter schools) will provide a copy of the personal reading plan to parents as well as provide progress updates after 10 weeks.

MGSD Plan
The district uses Amplify’s CKLA in 4K-5 to meet the requirement of a science-based reading program to be used by teachers.

Educators will review assessment results to determine specific plans.

The district will use a NextPath to manage the diagnostics, create student reading supports and required documentation (letters to families - PRP), and engage with families.

Consistent implementation of the process and progress monitoring for growth will be overseen by our district reading specialist and reading teacher team.

Progress monitoring will occur weekly to ensure growth is occurring; progress updates will be communicated with families every ten weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does my student need a Personal Reading Plan (PRP)?
A: The purpose of a PRP is to document the additional support your student is receiving to develop as a reader as required by Act 20. The qualifications for who receives a PRP is defined in the Act 20 legislation. We have always provided reading support to students, but now the documentation of those supports for 4K-3 grades is required.

Q: How do I know what skills my child is struggling with in reading?
A: The PRP provides information about the early literacy skills that we are working to strengthen. We will continue to communicate throughout the year on how things are going. If you have more questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher.

Q: How will I know if my child is making progress?
A: We monitor the progress of students across different areas of reading according to the goals we set. Throughout the year, we will send progress reports which will show the progress towards their individual goals. We can also discuss how things are going at family conferences throughout the year.

Q: Does my child have dyslexia?
A: The screening and intervention process that we are using to develop PRPs will take into consideration any impact dyslexia might have on a child’s reading development. The MGSD Dyslexia and Related Conditions webpage provides more information.

Q: Does my child need special education?
A: Classroom teachers support students with a variety of needs. It is not unusual for students to need some additional support in learning to read because children learn to read at different rates. A student may need to grow their skills in reading, but that does not necessarily mean that they would be eligible for special education. If a student does have a disability in reading, our reading support processes and testing will help us determine that.

If you have more questions the school psychologist is the best person for you to contact; they will have the best information for you about when students might require special education.

Promotion Policy

Early Literacy Remediation Plan

Act 20 Requirement
Act 20 requires each school district to articulate and post an early literacy remediation plan. School districts are still required to publicly post the academic standards that they use and to provide a link to Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions on their school district website.

MGSD Plan
Monona Grove School District’s Early Literacy Remediation Plan outlines assessment and intervention information, progress monitoring information, and how results of assessments will be used to evaluate district wide early literacy instruction.

Academic Standards and Dyslexia & Related Services are posted on our district website as is the link to Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions.

In This Section