DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O.
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 113
May 26, 2006
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Patricia I.
Wright Acting Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Early Intervention
Reading Initiative Application Process for the 2006-2007 School Year |
The Early Intervention Reading Initiative was
established by Chapter 924, 1997 Acts of
Assembly, to serve children in kindergarten or first grade. Beginning in
fiscal year 2001, the Governor and the General Assembly provided funding to
expand the Early Intervention Reading Initiative to include students in
kindergarten through the third grade.
The purpose of the initiative is to provide early
reading intervention services to students in kindergarten through the third
grade who demonstrate deficiencies reflected in their performance on a
diagnostic screening tool. Participating divisions are required to use the
state-provided diagnostic screening instrument, PALS (Phonological Awareness
Literacy Screening), or a diagnostic screening instrument approved by the
Department of Education. Attachment A is
a chart outlining the screening process for the school year 2006-2007. All PALS
screening results must be reported to the PALS office at the
Funding for the initiative is
based on the state's share of the cost of providing two and one-half hours of
additional instruction each week for an estimated number of students in each
school division on a student-to-teacher ratio of five-to-one. The estimated
number of students in each school division shall be based on the actual
percentage of students who are determined to need services based on the results
of the diagnostic screening administered in the fall of 2005 for kindergarten
and in the spring of 2006 for grades 1 through 3. Funding shall be based on a percentage of the
estimated number of eligible students as follows:
Kindergarten - 100 percent of eligible students
Grade
1 -
50 percent of eligible students
Grade
2 -
50 percent of eligible students
Grade 3 -
25 percent of eligible students
School divisions that did not
participate in 2005-2006 will be funded using free lunch eligibility as a
proxy. For these divisions, funding
shall be calculated by multiplying the projected number of students in each
school divisions fall membership in kindergarten through grade 3 by the
estimated percentage of students eligible for the free lunch program in that
school division to determine the number of students in need of services. Funding using the free lunch proxy will be
adjusted by the same percentages of eligible students as shown above.
Attachment B is the superintendents certification
form to apply for the incentive funds available under the Early Intervention
Reading Initiative in fiscal year 2007. It must be completed, signed, and returned to
the Department of Education by June 30, 2006.
Fifty percent of the Early Intervention Reading
Initiative funds are projected to be disbursed in December 2006, upon receipt
of the superintendents certification form. The remaining 50 percent of funds
will be released in February 2007 following a report of the number of children
identified and served. This information will be supplied to the Department of
Education by the PALS office.
The Virginia Department of Education and the
University of Virginia Curry School of Education have collaborated with
Wireless Generation to make PALS available on Wireless Generations handheld
computer software platform, known as mCLASS:PALS. As part of
If you have questions regarding funding,
please contact Kent Dickey, budget director, at (804) 225-2025 or Kent.Dickey@doe.virginia.gov.
Questions regarding the PALS online services should be addressed to Allison
Drake, PALS co-project manager, at (888) 882-7257 or PALS@virginia.edu. Questions regarding programmatic issues
should be addressed to Ginna Glover, specialist for reading and English, at
(804) 786-1997 or Ginna.Glover@doe.virginia.gov.
PIW/vjg/vdg
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2006/inf113a.pdf
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2006/inf113b.pdf