A hot-button topic in local education this year is Wisconsin Act 20, a newly enacted state law with intent to make certain students learn to read effectively at a young age, while holding school districts accountable for student growth.

But while Act 20 has been portrayed negatively in some communities, educators within the Luxemburg-Casco School District view it in a positive light.

“We see Act 20 as a valuable support to research-based literacy instruction,” says District Superintendent Jo-Ellen Fairbanks, Ph.D. “As a district, L-C is committed to providing our teachers with research-based training and strategies, which roll into natural alignment with Act 20. The district’s ultimate goal is to give our students the highest-quality instruction as they learn to read.”

Act 20 is a law that requires Wisconsin public schools to ensure that all students are able to read proficiently by the end of third grade by:

• Providing early literacy instruction
• Assessing early literacy skills
• Conducting diagnostic assessments
• Monitoring early literacy development

Science-based early literacy instruction that is systematic is a core element, including instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary building and reading fluency.

Instructional changes have been ongoing for Luxemburg-Casco since 2014, when the district began a process which included site visits to high-performing schools in the area, curriculum reviews, an enhanced emphasis on phonics and professional development for the teaching staff based on the best research-based practices.

These prior steps positioned L-C to make a smooth transition into the Act 20 requirements, according to Mike Snowberry, the district’s director of learning services.

“What Act 20 has done,” he says, “is it allowed us to really review every aspect of our current curriculum and to professionally develop the teachers to implement best practices. The teachers have done an amazing job in transforming how they taught, resulting in measurable improvement in our overall reading scores.”

District teachers began Act 20-related training at the end of the last school year, continuing through the summer months, and finishing up during the current academic year. The work was time intensive, and included quizzes and a final test.

“The training was a lot of work for our teachers, and I give them credit for the time they put into it. They took the challenge on like true professionals,” says District Instructional Coach Kyle Thayse. “Its intent was for teachers to grow their knowledge on best practices and research in literacy.

“Although the timing was not ideal, the training itself was embraced in a positive way by our teachers, and I find that they are referencing it often. It has allowed our teachers to reflect on existing practices and add new strategies – they are asking, ‘Is there a better way to do that?’ It has driven thought about our impact with students.”

What, then, has changed in the way that L-C teaches reading? According to Thayse, not many changes have been needed. Luxemburg-Casco has been utilizing a phonics-based approach to reading instruction for close to a decade, so numerous past practices were continued.

“What we are trying to tighten up on is the systematic approach to new learning principles, especially around vocabulary instruction and

building background knowledge,” Thayse says. “It was incidental in the past, and we want to make it ‘on purpose.’”

The district’s goals for reading instruction are rather straightforward.

“We want our students reading fluently and with accuracy,” says Thayse. “It’s not that we want them to read faster, we want them to read with proper phasing and use of punctuation. To be able to put chunks of words together correctly.”

Through reading readiness screenings, students who score below the 25^th percentile are identified. L-C and other schools are required to conduct diagnostic assessments on those students.

Starting in December, educators at Luxemburg-Casco will sit down to create a reading plan for those students based on what area of literacy they are struggling on. It also will be communicated to parents.

Recognizing that dialogue around educational practices may seem complex to the district community as they go about their everyday lives, Dr. Fairbanks boils it down for parents.

“Reading is a critical skill,” she says, “and we are using research-rooted practices to provide students with the instruction which will allow them to be the best readers they can be.”

And that’s a goal that everyone can agree on.