Marzano gave us clear insight into the most effective
6/21/16
instructional practices to use with our students to help
Barren County Schools Reaching Higher, Achieving
them become proficient readers and lifelong learners.
More
The Rigor and Relevance Framework of Bill Daggett
In 2002, Barren County Schools began an exciting
journey towards school improvement.
We began the
development of the Barren County Schools Academic
Business
Plan.
This
document
clearly
defined
expectations for classrooms in Barren County. Based
on
the
Standards
and
Indicators
for
School
Improvement, we focused on the 17 leverage points to
drive our improvement plan. We studied the works of
the most respected names in education reform and
looked for common threads.
From E.D. Hirsch, we
recognized the importance of cultural literacy, which
must exist to provide each of our students with the
background knowledge necessary to become effective
readers and the responsibility we have to provide an
equitable and excellent educational program for all
students.
realized
Through the work of Doug Reeves, we
the
importance
of
assessment
and
accountability, the responsibility we have as educators
to target the individual child and the important role
writing plays in this process. The research of Robert
provides a visual focus for us to determine what to
teach, how to schedule and the instructional practices,
which will be most efficient.
From Lauren Resnick’s
work we began to concentrate our efforts and organize
our schools for efficiency.
The Standards
and
Indicators for School Improvement and the research of
these notable individuals helped guide our district
literacy plan and formed the basis of what would steer
our plan.
This gave our schools a common platform to
drive educational change within our district. Proficiency
by 2014 is our goal for all students in Barren County.
School change does not occur overnight. Educators in
our district are working hard to guide our students to
their maximum potential.
There are no quick fixes in
education, but there are proven strategies that make a
difference.
Although each school within our district
varies in the programs it uses to reach educational
goals, we are guided by fundamental expectations that
are consistent district wide.
These expectations are
clearly defined on our Academic Business Plan.
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Every school has high expectations for each student
In 2003, a team of instructional specialists worked
elementary through high school. It is our goal to have all
several months on pulling together curriculum work that
children reading on or above grade level before they
had been initiated by Barren County teachers over the
leave third grade. Within our district we know precisely
past several years. With a sound curriculum, a plan to
how many third grade students read on grade level.
guide instruction, intentional assessment, research-
Students are tested at a minimum of three times each
based programs and committed educators the sky is the
year. Specific interventions are put into place to help
limit for our students. When all the staff in the school
students reach that goal. Research suggests that if
believes that sustained and directed efforts are as
students do not get on grade level by third grade,
important
chances are they will never read on grade level.
We
achievement will occur for all students. High standards
realize that early primary is a critical time in the
and clear expectations will be communicated to all staff,
development of the young mind.
students, parents, and the community.
However, it is the
expectation to have ALL of our students reading at or
have
above
standards.
grade
level.
Time,
not
expected
level
of
as
access
aptitude
to
the
in
student
curriculum
learning,
high
All students
based
on
these
Quality instruction, authentic assessment
achievement, is the variable. With a “laser-like” focus
and extended learning time will be provided to assure
on each child, we intend for every child to reach his or
that all students reach those high standards.
her maximum potential.
Differentiated instruction
allows a student to progress at his or her specific
instructional level. Varied individualized acceleration,
whether extended time, above grade level work or
curriculum compacting is to be standard practice in our
classrooms.
Flexible
grouping
and
individualized
learning plans can allow this to occur for each student.
It is our goal to meet and exceed NCLB (No Child Left
In its 1991 National Literacy Act, Congress defined
literacy as, “an individual’s ability to read, write, and
speak in English an compute and solve problems at
levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job
and in society, to achieve one’s goals, and develop
one’s knowledge and potential.”
It is the goal of the Barren County School District Literacy Plan
to implement reading practices that are developmental,
Behind) requirements.
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accelerated, and preventive. Each strategy working to assure
that all students can read on grade level and to diagnose and
accelerate the reading performance of all students. In Barren
County the District Literacy Team is composed of the
Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Director of Special
Services, Director of Pupil Personnel, and District Resource
Teachers. These individuals meet twice a month to discuss
district literacy efforts. Leadership and policy direction at all
levels support reading and lead to high literacy attainment for
all students.
Each instructional decision will focus on
supporting teaching and learning, organizing academic
direction, creating high performance expectations, and creating
a learning culture.
It is the expectation to have ALL of our
students reading at or above grade level.
Time, not expected level of achievement,
is the variable.
An Aligned Curriculum
Barren County’s Elementary Schools have an aligned district
curriculum that is rigorous and intentional. The curriculum is built
from Kentucky Core Content for Assessment, National Standards
and exemplary research-based curriculum models (e.g. Core
Knowledge). The curriculum defines what is to be taught at each
grade level. As our students proceed year to year, he or she will be
exposed to a broad range of historical, scientific, and cultural topics
that will build on one another and prepare the student for later
educational success. This exposure to a wide array of subject
matter is intended not only to develop cultural literacy but also to
build a strong vocabulary, now recognized, along with decoding
skills, to be necessary for true reading comprehension. Cultural
literacy, or familiarity with the traditions and knowledge commonly
shared by educated citizens in a society is sometimes acquired in
informal ways as well as by formal studies. High expectations for the
students of Barren County guided the development of curriculum
standards. The curriculum is to be differentiated within our schools
allowing students to progress at their individual instructional level.
Flexible grouping and differentiated instruction within classroom units
allow this to occur.
The curriculum of Barren County Middle School and Barren County
High School is aligned with Kentucky Core Content for Assessment
and Kentucky Program of Studies, defining what is to be taught
throughout each school. Applying the aligned curriculum to each
academic area, individual student needs are met through a variety of
instructional levels, ranging from remedial to advanced placement.
Curriculum is supported through curriculum maps, all of which are
available in each building, reflecting specific points of alignment. It is
the practice of all Barren County Schools to provide students with a
rigorous curriculum that incorporates literacy, each promoting
content area reading and writing. Lesson Plan Creator and Unit
Mapper are used to provide data that reflects specific
content/curriculum alignment.
Organization is a key focus in our district. By pacing and organizing
curriculum, we are better able to reach our goal of proficiency. Each
grade level develops a yearly map to pace instruction for the school
year. The maps are posted in the classroom and available to
parents at the beginning of the school year. The yearly map is further
defined into Standards Based unit maps. Teachers in Barren County
utilize Unit Mapper from Lesson Plan Creator to develop content
maps. This tool is designed to assist the teacher in developing
standards-based units and lessons. Patterned after contemporary
unit mapping techniques, this program allows the teacher to organize
the unit, select standards by simply clicking with the mouse,
determine the essential questions, develop a culminating
performance, scoring guide and multiple assessments, list the skills,
abilities and knowledge necessary to learn the material, determine
the critical resources needed to teach the standard, outline and then
develop individual lessons. The unit can then be saved for later
revision or exported to any word processor for printing. It is required
that all content area units integrate literacy as a core component,
promoting content area reading and writing. With A clearly defined
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curriculum, embedded authentic reading and writing are integrated
into each unit more readily.
Content literacy is important at all Barren County Schools. Barren
County Schools embrace 4 Core Principles (literacymatters.org):
1. Students are actively engaged in reading and writing to construct
knowledge. Learning is not a passive experience. The meaning of a
text is not contained in the words on a page. The reader constructs
it, often by writing. Our goal is to have students draw on their prior
knowledge, connect what they know to new ideas and concepts,
meaningfully
synthesize
information,
and
develop
key
understandings that are central to a content area.
2. Content teachers use varied resources. Teachers can enhance
content area leaning by using a wide variety of materials in addition
to textbooks. For example, they can introduce literature, trade
books, journals, newspaper articles, primary sources, graphics and
photographs. Access to the internet in schools has opened the door
to finding information in text, video, graphics and audio formats.
3. Literacy is a social experience. Reading and writing are not
isolated acts but rather social ones. Reading as a meaning-making
process relies on students working together. Teachers can facilitate
discussions. This helps students to gain a greater understanding of
the processes and strategies involved in comprehension. Writing
benefits from collaborative brainstorming, peer editing, and
discussions of text where the author receives feedback from his or
her teacher.
4. Teachers should guide students to read and write, “as if they
are in the field.” The core principle here is that students should
read history materials as if they are historians and science
materials as if they are scientists. This means, for example,
that in history, they take into account the historical context, the
author, the author’s intent and purpose, the point of view, and
other related texts. By doing so they interact with the text,
identify bias, and determine for themselves how historical
events are conveyed and interpreted.
The schools’ instructional programs actively engage all students by
using effective, varied, and research-based literacy practices to
improve student academic performance. Here in the Barren County
school system, teachers use research-based practices to insure
every child has the opportunity to succeed. In April of 2001 the
campaign for research-based reading instruction took a giant step
forward with the release of the final report from the National Reading
Panel. This group of 14 leading research scientists, representatives
of higher education, teachers, administrators, and parents spent
almost two years trying to identify elements of effective reading
strategies. The panelists culled roughly 100,000 studies on reading
instruction conducted during the past 4 decades, selecting only those
that met the highest empirical standards of scientific investigation
and analyzing their implication for reading instruction. The panel
agreed that “teachers are crucial” to the success or failure of reading
instruction strategies. Teachers in Barren County schools have
successfully put the findings of this research into practice by using
the research-based programs such as SRA (Scientist Research
Associates).
The SRA Direct Instruction programs are used
throughout many of the schools in our system not only to teach
children to read but also for spelling and writing. The SRA Reading
Mastery and Corrective Reading programs both contain the key
elements that have been identified by the National Reading Panel as
vital to teach reading:
1. Teaching children to manipulate phonemes; teaching
phonemic awareness; and explicit, systematic
instruction in phonics.
2. Teachers directing daily, guided oral reading performed
by all students.
3. Vocabulary
instruction
leading
to
gains
in
comprehension and higher tests scores.
4. Teaching a range of reading comprehension techniques
to foster independent learning.
5. Allow for the education of teachers to ensure the proper
implementation of these techniques.
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Many teachers and administrators throughout Kentucky view the
SRA programs as suitable only for remediation and special
education. While it is true that SRA programs achieve great results
with students that have otherwise “fallen through the cracks” it is
crucial for educators and parents alike to understand these programs
were developed 30 years ago for school-wide implementation.
Cognizant that all students do not learn though the same means,
Barren County Schools provide a variety of strategies both to meet
student needs and to strengthen student learning. Balanced literacy
is an important focus within our classrooms.
Shared
Reading
Guided
Reading
Literature
Groups
Independent
Reading
Shared
Writing/
Interactive
Writing
Writers’
Workshop
Students observe the teacher reading an enlarged
text and are encouraged to read along.
The teacher guides small groups of students in the
reading of texts at their instructional level,
observing and supporting the student’s use of
strategies with prompts and questions which focus
on predicting, questioning, and summarizing.
Small groups of children participate in discussions
that focus on negotiating meaning of text: giving
personal reactions, clarifying certain words or story
parts, predicting, summarizing, relaying insights,
etc.
Students read on their own or with partners,
independent of the teacher from a variety of genre,
building fluency and comprehension.
The teacher and students work together to
compose messages and stories, providing
opportunities to teach reading and writing skills
through strategies that prompt a supportive writing
environment.
Students are engaged in writing a variety of texts
with the teacher guiding the process by modeling,
providing mini-lessons, conferring, and giving
students the opportunity to share. Teachers use
this workshop format to teach students how to write
in different genre and improve the quality of their
work.
Independent
Writing
Students write on their own, independent of the
teacher: journal writing, self-selected.
We want our students to become lifelong learners who are active,
independent readers, writers, and thinkers. Literacy Skills are
essential for success in today’s society. Content area reading and
writing occurs in all academic areas and must be integrated into
units. It is our goal for writing to become an authentic part of
learning, not solely portfolio development. Our district writing
curriculum will help this to occur. In the elementary school, for the
first time, teachers have specific grade-level expectations for
student writing. Our focus is to strengthen student’s writing skills,
and to develop the emergent writer, not simply to fulfill portfolio
requirements.
Teachers develop daily lesson plans using Lesson Plan Creator 5
Day Planner. This program lists the Core Content for Assessment
and allows the teacher to quickly select standards and develop
standards-based lesson plans.
Curriculum is monitored, evaluated and revised by teachers during
Curriculum Power Sessions.
At these sessions, grade level
teachers come together with the Curriculum Resource Teacher, the
Gifted Resource Teacher, a special education representative and a
Technology integration specialist three times a year at a central
location to discuss curriculum, unit development, and instructional
strategies.
Teachers also meet with these same individuals a
minimum of once each 9 weeks during their common planning time
to discuss school or class specific issues.
All elementary
curriculum, yearly maps, unit maps and resources are being added
to our Trojan2000 web site.
A Plan for Classroom Evaluation/Assessment
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Each Barren County School utilizes multiple evaluation and
assessment strategies to monitor and modify instruction to meet
student needs and to support proficient student work. Standardized
test scores are used as one of many indicators. Each assessment
produces a measurable guideline, validating instructional strategies,
as well as student achievement. The standardized tests cannot be
the sole indicator of educational quality, but they provide an essential
focus for our educators and school leaders. Barren County Schools
also use a series of tests available from Northwest Evaluation
Association. The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a series
of tests that measure our student’s general knowledge in reading,
language usage, and math. Students may take MAP beginning as
early as second grade and again every fall and spring through 8 th
grade even into high school if deemed necessary. A shorter version
is also given in January to monitor student progress. These tests are
important because they keep track of progress or growth in the basic
skills. They let teachers know students’ strengths and if help is
needed in any specific area. MAP is just one way to look at how our
students are doing.
Barren County Schools recognize that all students do not learn at the
same rate or through the same means. It is the intent of each school
to provide early diagnosis of those students who struggle with gradeappropriate skills, providing intervention for each. Through a
variation of strategies, resources, and support students will receive
engaging instruction in a supportive environment, providing
additional instruction and motivation. It is the goal of each school to
provide academic intervention while addressing the root of each
deficiency.
Teachers routinely assign projects and tests, administer other tests,
discuss student work, as well as report grades. Many of our schools
utilize SRA and Saxon, which have an ongoing mastery assessment
component that allows students to be tested at frequent intervals.
When students do not reach mastery, remedial activities are initiated.
For students whose needs cannot be addressed through remedial
activities, an Academic Intervention Intensive Assistance Plan is put
into place. Educators, support personnel, and parents monitor this
plan regularly.
Currently, we are in the process of developing common district
assessments for each unit that is taught in our schools. To extend
this further we will be developing common scrimmage tests to be
given to our students. This allows us to monitor continuously our
children’s achievement.
These are all very important ways that Barren County Educators are
able to provide early diagnosis and evaluation with appropriate
intervention for students who struggle with basic skills. Data is used
to inform instruction on an individual student basis. It allows a laserlike focus on student achievement allowing our educators to create
prescriptive learning plans that are individualized to student needs.
Supporting Effective Instruction through Planning and Effective
Professional Development
The instructional program at our Barren County Schools actively
engages all students by using effective, varied, and research-based
practices to improve student academic performance. Each school
works hard to create a supportive environment that will motivate
students to achieve and value education. Well-developed unit maps
include these instructional practices through varied learning
activities.
All teachers in Barren County are asked to use Essential Questions
to frame instruction. These are introduced at the beginning of the
lesson and later reviewed. Teachers are also asked to make
students aware of the standards. All teachers 3rd through 6th grade
utilize a Core Content Checklist with their students keep track of
standards covered. For the 2004-2005 school year these will be in
the front of the student agenda book. Core Content is posted in
many classrooms often alongside student work in order to increase
this awareness. Teachers are asked to utilize rubrics with all
assessments and to post the rubric with student work. Exposing
students to proficient work is a key strategy to assist students on
their journey to proficiency. Rubrics serve as an excellent coaching
tool for teachers. Examples of proficient work are posted in each
classroom and used as an instructional tool. This work serves not
only as an example but also as a celebration of student success. It
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is our belief that all students should be coached to proficiency and
encouraged to strive for better, more thorough responses.
Teachers in Barren County strive to create a “thinking classroom.” In
the summer of 2003, all teachers at Barren County Schools received
extensive
professional
development
in
Questioning
and
Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking (QUILT). The
ultimate goal of QUILT is to transform classrooms into more
interactive, inclusive arenas for student learning. This professional
development differed from most in several important ways.
Everyone one, teachers and Para educators from all grades, focused
on the same improvement objectives. Teachers were leading their
own professional development. A team of teachers attended a
summer training-for-trainers institute that provided them with the
knowledge and skills to implement this program with their
colleagues. Following the professional development, educators were
paired within their building to learn from each other through
observations and dialogue and with their colleagues through
collegiums. They think together about how they can encourage
learners to become more reflective in making connections that lead
to higher levels of understanding. The professional development is
ongoing and job-embedded.
Another special feature of this
professional learning experience is that teachers taught their
students new vocabulary and behaviors that were at the heart of the
program. Now students know that wait time provides the opportunity
for thinking about one’s own and classmates’ answers to questions.
They are also aware that attentive listening will enable them to
piggyback on a classmate’s response and move a discussion to a
higher level of thinking. Young students know about Bloom’s
taxonomy and understand what higher cognitive levels mean. They
are also learning norms for classroom interactions: “We learn best
when we formulate and answer our own questions,” and “When we
share talk time, we demonstrate respect and we learn from one
another.” Our goal is to increase expectations for all students’
academic achievement and to improve students’ ability to process
information at all levels.
Barren County Schools provide opportunities for staff and implement
performance evaluation procedures in order to improve teaching and
learning in literacy. In addition to formal training opportunities, each
classroom teacher is assisted in literacy manipulatives that
encourage on-going literacy strategies. This is done through afterschool power classes, school-wide trainings, modeling and
team/faculty meetings.
Additional support is provided for our new employees in the form of
New Teacher Training Sessions. These sessions are held every 9
weeks to allow new teachers to meet with their colleagues, to
discuss instructional issues, district initiatives, analyze videotapes of
instruction and discuss the challenges of the teaching profession.
Organizing for Efficiency
Instructional decisions focus on support for teaching and
learning, organizational direction, high performance
expectations, creating a learning culture, and developing
leadership capacity. Barren County School District capitalizes the
use of time, available space, and resources to maximize teaching
and learning in literacy through the following resources:
Kentucky Department of Education
District Resource Teachers
Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Directors
The V-team (technology)
Community Partners
Building Administrators
Vertical and horizontal planning
One way this is achieved is through our Master Teacher Program,
which will begin in the summer of 2004. Through a collaborative
effort that includes the Board of Education and our elementary
schools we have joined efforts for a literacy initiative. Each school
will have 2-4 teachers who have been chosen for the role of Lead
Teacher. After being chosen, these teachers will receive intensive
professional development in district initiatives based on researchbased practices. These individuals become a literacy, integration,
and assessment specialist within the school. Lead teachers will have
release time to visit classrooms and communicate with teachers from
other districts. In turn, the Lead Teachers work collaboratively with
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7-10 teachers from their own school. These teams meet regularly to
share ideas, discuss student work and study research-based
instructional practices that have proven to help students achieve at
high levels by improving their reading and writing skills. This
endeavor was undertaken to build leadership capacity with schools,
to guide and support every teacher as we strive for proficiency. The
lead teachers are instructional coaches who facilitate meetings,
arrange classroom visits where teachers observe one another and
provide collegial support as they meet weekly to share their learning
experiences. It allows us to use our own master teachers to provide
ongoing training and support within our school. Too often such
teachers are asked to leave their classroom and change jobs within
the district to provide this level of leadership. We are developing our
own version of in-house professional development leaders and all
the while supporting their desire to do what they do best, teach. The
lead teachers emphasize that the elementary classroom must have a
strong daily focus on literacy. These lead teachers meet monthly
with the Supervisor of Instruction and District Resource Teachers to
discuss research-based strategies and instructional practices within
their building. Teachers and administration understand and support
the idea that everyone in the district must constantly work to improve
their daily instructional practices. We believe the collaboration will
have a positive effect on student achievement for years to come.
instruction and actively pursue this goal. Our QUILT initiative is one
way we can create a classroom environment that maximizes
individual student engagement
In order to maximize instructional time in the classroom, our
elementary schools create block schedules. While schedules differ
throughout the district, each school is asked to create blocks of time
for academic instruction. Most schools have chosen a three-block
approach: literacy, math, and academic content. This allows for
uninterrupted blocks of time for instruction allowing the teacher to
differentiate curriculum and instruction to better meet individual
student needs. Not only do we organize our day to create blocks of
time, we also focus on wisely using the instructional time that is
available during the day. Principals and District Resource Teachers
work with teachers to “weed the garden” or eliminate timeconsuming, counter productive activities during the day. Teachers
are asked to examine instructional activities and only utilize those
that maximize instruction for students. Student engagement is
another key focus. We want our student actively engaged in
In the 2003-2004 school year, our Speech and Language
Pathologists came together to meet and discuss their piece in our
literacy initiative. These educators worked together with District
Resource Teachers not only to eliminate unnecessary gaps and
inconsistencies in the two programs, but also to discuss specific
strategies that could be incorporated. This collaborative effort
among all programs is a key next step in our district.
All Barren County Schools develop, implement, and evaluate
their
comprehensive
school
improvement
plan
that
communicates a clear purpose, direction, and action plan
focused on teaching and learning. This is to be a livingbreathing document that guides school initiatives and
professional development. All schools in the Barren County
system are to develop a comprehensive Literacy Plan to guide
literacy efforts at their school.
Teachers provide opportunities for students to use a variety of
technology tools to extend their learning. Teachers are assisted in
this endeavor by the V-Team. The V-Team is a district team of 4
technology integration specialists that meet regularly with teachers
during common planning times and Curriculum Power Sessions.
They are available to work with teachers and students to enhance
technology use in the classroom. The V-Team works directly with
Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP). The V-Team also
holds Power Sessions in the afternoon to provide professional
development to Barren County Employees.
Community Partnerships and Support Services
In all Barren County elementary schools, adults read frequently with
students. This is made possible through an active parent volunteer
program that includes mothers, fathers, grandparents, and
guardians. Parents and community volunteers are visible and have a
8
key role (e.g., reading aloud, listening to students read, conferencing
on reading and writing) in the literacy program.
Each year the
district is increasing the number of volunteers and the number of
volunteer hours donated to the schools. During the 2002-2003
school year Barren County logged 67,122 academic and
extracurricular volunteer hours. Barren County supports this through
the employment of a District Volunteer Coordinator. Our volunteer
coordinator has molded the volunteer program as an extension of the
day-to-day life in the schools of Barren County. Our elementary
schools also have guest reader days, such as READ Across
America, where local community leaders are invited to come read
with a classroom.
The Family Resource and Youth Service Center forms partnerships
to bridge the gap between communities and schools. There is a
FRYSC center on site at each of our schools, which assist in
removing barriers to education for our children enhancing our literacy
efforts by meeting basic needs. Our Family Resource and Youth
Service Center personnel have key roles in our Academic
Intervention Plans. They are a valuable resource for our schools as
well as our parents.
KY READS is a federal program that provides a partnership with
Barren County Schools to place full time literacy assistants in our
elementary schools. These literacy specialists work one on one with
primary students and participate in our literacy blocks. It is a
partnership that has provided direct support to our literacy initiative.
The program, which was successfully piloted at Hiseville Elementary
several years ago, was expanded in the 2003 school year to place
literacy assistants in each of our elementary schools.
Our Migrant program is another invaluable resource we are fortunate
to have in Barren County Schools. The Seasonal/Migrant Program
is part of the federal Title 1 services throughout the nation. It is
specifically set up to ensure that families who move in order to do
seasonal farm work have teachers who work with the family and their
new school to offset the educational disruptions that are caused by
the frequent migration of the family. Our Barren County Migrant
Program provides much needed assistance to our transient
population. Our Migrant Education Staff work closely with teachers
and administration to raise student achievement through summer
programs, tutoring, and monitoring of behavior and academics.
These teachers visit the home throughout the year, conduct parent
meetings at various sites, monitor grades and attendance, and offer
summer tutoring. The staff also encourages literacy by supplying
participants with books, which they are able to read for enjoyment,
and other literacy programs.
The community supports literacy through public relations campaigns
and provides donations for the purchase of new materials. Every
school has one or more business partners through the GlasgowBarren county Chamber of Commerce's Partners in Excellence
program (PIE). Through our Barren County Community Education
program we promote lifelong learning, community involvement and
collaborative partnerships. Our community schools are used as
learning centers. This provides P-12 support and reaches out to our
families and communities. Leaders of the Future is another example
of the collaborative effort of the community to enhance student
achievement. Leaders of the Future targets students in eighth and
ninth grade. Each year a total of twenty-four students from area
districts are selected to participate in the program. Through this
experience, this program helps students appreciate the ties between
education, careers and the community.
.
Our schools establish formal and informal literacy partnerships with
families and to provide training that supports reading and writing.
Barren County schools include outreach programs to involve
representatives of the school’s demographics.
All Barren County schools involve the wider community –
businesses/industries, faith-based organizations, civic organizations
or associations, and the private and public sectors through
partnerships through Trojan Times. Trojan Times is an exciting After
School Program composed of After School Child Care, ESS
(Extended School Services) and enrichment activities.
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Each school plans programs that are applicable to their own school.
Community partnerships are an important element in the success of
this program.
Barren County Schools publicize activities/literacy events and make
information available about community literacy organizations
through multiple mediums including newspapers, brochures, radio
spots and cable access spots.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a non-profit agency that seeks to pair
caring high school and adult mentors with youth in need of additional
one-to-one attention. Through this mentoring Barren County feels
they can positively influence the life of a child. Students are offered
community-based or school-based mentoring based on their
scheduling needs.
This Barren County District Literacy Plan was created following
the format of the PERKS (Program Effectiveness Review for
Kentucky Schools), 9 elements of a comprehensive school-wide
literacy program.
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