Educators and education leaders in Vermont now have a new tool to help them meet their literacy goals. The Region 1 Comprehensive Center (R1CC) worked with the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) to develop the Vermont Literacy Playbook: An Implementation Guide for System Leaders to Improve Literacy Learning, which was posted to the AOE website in December. The Playbook is a companion tool to the 2019 Blueprint for Early Literacy Comprehensive System of Services, PreK Through Third Grade, which was the product of an earlier literacy initiative.
“We are so excited that the Playbook is finalized,” said Kat Theodore, project lead for R1CC. “The Playbook builds upon the work of the Blueprint by giving system leaders a process for applying best practices to develop and implement effective local literacy plans to improve all students’ literacy outcomes.”
Used in conjunction with the Local Literacy Plan Template, the Playbook serves to “bridge the gap between almost a decade of policy and practice and acts as both an implementation guide and toolkit.”
What is a Local Literacy Plan?
Recognizing the importance of reading and literacy to overall academic achievement and success, AOE invested in a multifaceted approach to improving reading outcomes. Part of that approach is Local Literacy Plans (LLPs). These plans provide a roadmap to improving literacy in a district or school.
LLPs should clearly present the district’s goals around literacy, identify local needs, and describe how the district will address those needs, and use available resources to support evidence-based literacy practices.
The Playbook is designed to “provide action steps, templates, and guidelines that district leaders can adapt based on local needs when developing, implementing, and continuously improving their LLPs.”
How the Playbook is Organized
The Playbook is divided into three stages: self-assessment, literacy planning, and implementation and continuous improvement. For each stage, the Playbook provides an introduction, critical actions, considerations and guiding questions, implementation tools, and connection spotlights.
This structure is designed to best support school districts and teams in assessing, developing, implementing, and monitoring their LLP in order to meet their literacy goals.
The Playbook also highlights different ways districts can connect the resources and strategies contained in the guide to their existing literacy efforts, policies, and processes.
History
The Playbook was developed as part of a 2021 initiative to improve literacy outcomes throughout Vermont. It builds upon the work that went into the 2019 Blueprint for Early Literacy.
Learn more about the playbook and R1CC’s participation on our Developing Implementation Guidance and Supports for the Early Literacy Blueprint project page.