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Purpose

The Rural Secondary Literacy Project (RSLP) was a collaborative initiative among the Exceptional Student Leadership Unit, Literacy Grants and Initiatives (LGI) Unit, and Regional Services. It was funded in 2007-2008 for a 3-year period. The intent was to:

  1. Develop an effective, replicable secondary literacy framework.
  2. Increase the capacity of the rural secondary schools in the project to deliver appropriate literacy instruction and intervention, and use student achievement data to analyze effectiveness of systems.
The Colorado Department of Education had the overarching goal for RSLP to study a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of literacy support for all students, including those with disabilities. The RSLP pilot was a model that could be eventually replicated by school districts. The goal of RSLP is to create demonstration sites that effectively addressed the needs of struggling adolescent readers, especially those with disabilities, resulting in increased student academic achievement throughout the state.

The project consisted of the following components:

  • Development of leadership teams
  • Professional development on literacy for general and special education staff
  • Implementation of scientific, research-based interventions
  • Systematic progress monitoring of student literacy achievement
  • Six school site visits by an RSLP literacy coach
  • Two school site visits by an RSLP facilitator

Project Outcomes

Schools:
  • Establish literacy achievement as a priority and allocate necessary time, money, and personnel resources.
  • Screen all students using valid, reliable tools to analyze data and determine appropriate interventions.
  • Increase the knowledge and capacity of teachers to provide literacy interventions.
  • Develop a master schedule that provides a continuum of interventions to meet the needs of identified students.
  • Use progress monitoring data to analyze the effectiveness of the system and make decisions regarding instruction and intervention.
  • Increase reading achievement and close achievement gaps.