COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 54
APRIL 5, 2002
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Jo Lynne
DeMary Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Early
Intervention Reading Initiative Application Process |
The Early Intervention Reading
Initiative was established by Chapter 924, 1997
Acts of Assembly, to serve children in kindergarten or first grade. In
January 2000, the Governor and the General Assembly provided funding to expand
the Early Intervention Reading Initiative to include students in kindergarten
through 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 each student's performance on a diagnostic screening tool approved by the Department of Education.
New Issues
The screening window for the Early Intervention Reading Initiative has been moved from a fall-to-fall window to a spring-to-spring screening window. Also, a high benchmark has been added for first-grade students. Students attaining this benchmark would no longer need to be screened with PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening). These changes enhance the Early Intervention Reading Initiative by:
allowing intervention services for all students in first, second, and third grades to start at the beginning of the school year or during the summer;
eliminating the problem the fall screening window created for year-round schools and schools that start before Labor Day;
allowing Title I to use PALS as the screening instrument for reading services, thereby eliminating the use of another screening instrument; and
reducing the amount of time required for screening.
General Issues
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 school years 2002-2004. All
screening results must be reported to the PALS office at the University of
Virginia via the PALS website.
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 at 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 2001. Funding shall be based on a percentage of the estimated number of
eligible students as follows:
Grade 1 -
50% of eligible students
Grade 2 -
50% of eligible students
Grade 3 - 25% of eligible students
School divisions that did not participate in 2000-2001 will be funded
using free lunch eligibility as a proxy.
That is, funding shall be determined 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. 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. Starting April 1, division contact
persons must register online via the PALS Web
site http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/curry/centers/pals/home.html. Registration
must be completed by May 3.
Fifty
percent of the Early Intervention Reading Initiative funds are projected to be
disbursed in December, upon receipt and approval of the Superintendents
Certification form. The remaining 50 percent will be released in February 2003
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.
Questions regarding funding
should be addressed to Kent Dickey, budget director, at (804)225-2025.
Questions regarding the PALS online services should be addressed to Amie
Sullivan, PALS project manager, at (888)882-7257. Questions regarding
programmatic issues should be addressed to Barbara F. Jones, specialist for
reading and English, at (804)786-1997.
Attachments
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/inf054a.pdf
/administrators/superintendents_memos/2002/inf054b.pdf