The Assurances’ purpose is to ensure that the children in Reading First classrooms receive optimal opportunities for learning to read and write so that by the end of third grade students are proficient readers in English.
LEA’s commit to set high level expectations for the students as guided by the following Assurances:
- Implementation of the explicit program components and instructional strategies;
- Development and adherence to a pacing schedule;
- Protected time for uninterrupted instructional minutes (60 minutes for kindergarten, 150 minutes for grades 1-3) and extended time for at-risk students (30-40 minutes):
- Use of curriculum-embedded assessments every 6 to 8 weeks;
- Provision of professional development for teachers annually (120 hours);
- Provision of professional development for principals (80 hours initially with follow-up support annually);
- Utilization of instructional support systems (e.g., a coach per 30 teachers and content experts for support to coaches).
- The Reading First Plan requires schools to use state-adopted instructional materials with an option to use the Spanish version of the English program for children in waivered Spanish bilingual classrooms.
The Reading First Assurances are founded on research-based strategies proven to advance low achieving schools. LEA’s eligible for Reading First Funds are those in which at least 40% (or more than 1,000) of 2nd and 3rd grade children perform at “Far Below Basic” or “Below Basic” on the California Standards Test for English Language Arts.
