BP 6142.91 — Reading/Language Arts Instruction

Section: 6000 - Instruction
Status: Active

Adopted: 2018-03-27

Policy text

READING/LANGUAGE ARTS INSTRUCTION

The Governing Board recognizes that reading and other language arts constitute the basic foundation for learning in other areas of study. The Board desires to offer a comprehensive, balanced reading/language arts program that ensures all students have the skills necessary to read fluently and for meaning and develops students’ appreciation for literature. The program shall integrate reading and oral and written language arts activities in order to build effective communication skills.

For each grade level, the Board shall adopt academic standards that meet or exceed California State Standards in the following strands:

Reading: Foundational skills, text complexity and analysis, and the growth of comprehension
Writing: Text types, responding to reading, production and distribution of writings, and research
Speaking and listening: Oral language development, comprehension, flexible communication, and collaboration
Language: Conventions, effective use, knowledge of language, and vocabulary

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district’s reading/language arts program offers sufficient access to standards-aligned textbooks and other instructional materials. The program shall provide instructional materials of varying levels of difficulty, including fiction and nonfiction works, so that students are continually reading at an appropriate level. In addition, technology should be available to support all areas of literacy.

Teachers are expected to use a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate the needs of beginning readers and the varying abilities of more advanced readers. The program shall provide ongoing diagnosis of students’ skills and, as needed, may provide supplementary instruction during the school day and/or outside the regular school session to assist students who are experiencing difficulty learning to read.

The Superintendent or designee shall make available professional development opportunities that are designed to provide instructional staff with knowledge about how students develop language skills, the ability to analyze students’ literacy levels, and mastery of a variety of instructional strategies and materials.