Vermont State Literacy Plan

The purpose of this state literacy plan is to provide a resource for developing statewide policy and projects, grants, local curricula, assessment plans, professional development programs, as well as literacy leadership initiatives. In preparing this document, we sought input from a variety of stakeholders to ensure a balance of perspectives and points of view.

There are two central goals of the Vermont State Literacy Plan. The first is to ensure that all students enter kindergarten and remain on track to achieve college and career readiness standards in literacy by the completion of the twelfth grade. The second is to ensure that all learners have access to educational supports as necessary to maximize continued literacy development for citizenship and successful careers.

To address these goals, we have identified the following areas of literacy as critical for moving literacy achievement forward in Vermont:

Section I: Guiding Principles
Section II: Data and Trends
Section III: Standards of Practice
Section IV: Professional Development
Section V: Response To Intervention
Section VI: Literacy Leadership and Action Planning
Section VII: Assessment and Effective Use of Data System
Appendix A
Appendix B
References

The plan addresses each of these areas and provides research-based recommendations to guide statewide literacy initiatives in the coming years that advocate for the following:

Ensure that all children have equal access to effective learning environments, including home, early childhood programs, schools, libraries, etc. as necessary to maximize literacy development.
Ensure that all children (Birth-Kindergarten) have access to play-based, developmentally appropriate learning opportunities to build a strong foundation for literacy achievement.
Ensure effective core instruction for all learners.
Ensure that all literacy educators have the knowledge, expertise, support and resources to provide responsive instruction for increased student achievement.

Ensure early and appropriate interventions for students who are not meeting benchmarks
Eliminate existing literacy achievement gaps
Ensure high expectations for all learners and promote the shared belief that demographics are not destiny.

On a final note, this state literacy plan is in draft form and further committee work is underway. We will post this document in its completed form after an open review period that will take place in September.

Download the PDF of the State Literacy Plan.