Read to Achieve
Help for Young Readers
The Read to Achieve program, mandated for North Carolina's public school systems by the state Legislature as part of the 2012 Excellence in Schools Act, offers extra reading support and opportunities for students in grades 1-3 during the summer if a child is not at grade level by the end of the school year. Summer reading camps as designed by Lenoir County Public Schools are opportunities for students to receive more support, but are not mandated or required. Parents make the decision about whether to send their children to reading camps. Reading Camp can help students continue the “learning to read” process so that he/she will begin the next school year ready to continue the learning progression. Reading Camp for first and second grade is meant to give continued and additional instruction and support to further develop your child’s foundational and comprehension reading skills.
The goal of the Read to Achieve program itself is to have all students reading on grade level by the end of the third grade. Third grade students who do not demonstrate reading proficiency on end-of-grade accountability tests are encouraged to enroll in Summer Reading Camp in order to close any gaps in proficiency. There, they have the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency by passing the third grade Read to Achieve alternative assessment or a local alternative assessment or by evidence of a completed student read portfolio. Third grade students who are not reading proficient when it is time to enter fourth grade may be retained.
Teachers at Reading Camp will provide the targeted and individualized support and services needed to help students become proficient and confident readers. This extra intervention will help prepare students for future years of reading and comprehending texts in all content areas.
Literacy at Home
“Literacy at Home” is the newest resource from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to support young readers in North Carolina. The site is home to easily accessible resources in the foundational areas of reading supported by the science of reading. Developed for each grade level, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, resources are available to support phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language. The site is easily located here.