Dr. David Stewart, State Superintendent of Schools
Building 6, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E.
Charleston, West Virginia 25305-0330
Phone: 304-558-2681
Fax: 304-558-0048
http://wvde.state.wv.us
MEMORANDUM
TO:
County Special Education Administrators
County Superintendents
County Directors of Title I
Principals K-12
Frank Andrews, Superintendent, Office of Instructional Education Programs
Jane McBride, Superintendent, West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind
Parent Educator Resource Centers
RESA Special Education Administrators
West Virginia Parent Training Information
West Virginia Advocates
Mountain State Parents Children and Adolescents Network
WVU-CED Parent Specialist
Mountain Family State Alliance
Due Process Hearing Officers
Mediators
West Virginia Advisory Council for the Education of Exceptional Children
FROM:
Lynn Boyer, Executive Director, Office of Special Education
Keith Butcher, Executive Director, Office of Instructional Services
DATE:
May 25, 2005
SUBJECT:
FY05-5 CLARIFICATION
UNINTERRUPTED READING BLOCK
WV Board of Education Policy 2510: Assuring the Quality of Education: Regulations
for Education Programs establishes the regulations for all education programs that are designed
to improve the quality of teaching and learning in WV public schools. In accordance with
revisions in Policy 2510 and effective July 1, 2005, schools are required to schedule in K-2
classrooms, at a minimum, a daily uninterrupted 90-minute reading block. For intermediate
elementary 3-4 classrooms, 90 minutes for Reading and English Language Arts instruction is
required which includes 60 minutes of uninterrupted daily reading instruction.
During the daily-uninterrupted reading instruction block, ALL students are to be taught the
West Virginia Content Standards and Objectives (CSOs) that address the five essential reading
components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) with no
interruption. Instruction in grammar, spelling, and writing may be applied but not explicitly
taught during reading instruction. (Example: Students would practice the proper use of the
writing process in responding to reading.) Effective implementation of the reading block for all
students should include:
Memorandum
Page Two
May 25, 2005
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Core reading program focus.
Knowledge of the five essential reading components.
Thorough knowledge of grade-level reading content standards and objectives.
Ongoing progress monitoring that informs instruction.
Effective grouping strategies.
Classroom management that promotes effective and successful reading instruction for
all students.
Interruptions to this process include any activity that would remove the student from the
classroom including pullout to special areas. Examples include, but are not limited to, lunch,
library, field trips, counseling, special education/Title I testing, physical education classes,
related services, and student appointments.
The purpose of this clarification is to provide guidance to school districts regarding the
scheduling of special education, Title 1, and other services during the uninterrupted daily reading
instruction for elementary students. A clarification memorandum regarding Policy 2510 and the
scheduling of Reading and English Language Arts for grades 5-8 was disseminated by the West
Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) in January 2005.
Each school must establish procedures for implementing uninterrupted reading block
scheduling. In developing these procedures, the school will take into account the services and
programs that potentially impact the reading block schedule. For example, how will the
scheduling accommodate related services such as speech, occupational and physical therapy in a
pull-out model? Schools must identify any barriers to implementing an uninterrupted reading
block and develop appropriate strategies to reschedule these services at other times.
Furthermore, it is recommended that schools develop alternate schedules to address the provision
of the uninterrupted block in the event the regular school schedule is changed (e.g. two hour
delay for inclement weather).
Students with disabilities must receive an uninterrupted reading block in accordance with
Policy 2510 and the annual goals on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and may not
receive less reading instruction than non-disabled peers. For students who receive all of their
reading instruction in a special education setting, no less than 90 minutes of uninterrupted
reading instruction must be scheduled. For students with significant disabilities (i.e., those who
participate in alternate assessment), a 90 minute block focusing on communication and emerging
literacy skills should be provided.
While the location of reading instruction (i.e., regular or special education environment)
remains an IEP team decision, several factors must be considered when making this
determination.
Memorandum
Page Three
May 25, 2005
IEP Team Considerations
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Has the 9-step standards-based IEP decision-making process been utilized to determine
the student’s present levels of reading performance and to target the appropriate content
standards and objectives for specially designed instruction in reading? Refer to
Connecting West Virginia Content Standards and Objectives to Individualized Education
Program (IEP) Development: A Technical Brief disseminated by the WVDE, Office of
Special Education in August 2004.
Which essential reading components (i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary and comprehension) based on evaluation data, should be targeted for specially
designed instruction?
Can the student’s reading instruction be delivered in its entirety in the regular education
classroom with the use of supplementary aids and services?
If not, which portions of the regular core reading program could be delivered in the
regular education classroom?
Can the student’s specially designed instruction be delivered within the regular education
classroom by the special education teacher through a consultative service delivery
model?
Should the student’s 90-minute reading instruction be divided between the regular and
special education settings? For example, the first 45 minutes of instruction is provided in
the regular classroom and is immediately followed by another 45 minutes of reading
instruction in the special education classroom. Efforts must be taken to minimize
transition time between one classroom and the next to preserve the integrity of the 90
minute uninterrupted block for students with disabilities.
Could the student benefit from full participation in the regular education 90-minute block
with additional specially designed instruction provided in a special education setting to
include previewing or reteaching essential skills?
Should the student’s specially designed instruction be supplemental and supportive
relative to the core reading program or should the reading instruction be more intense,
more explicit or different from the core reading program?
Does the IEP of a student with a communication disorder include goals that are related to
language development? Can those goals be implemented within the context of the
student’s reading instruction? For example, the speech-language pathologist (SLP) may
implement the student’s phonemic awareness, vocabulary and other language related
goals in the regular classroom in collaboration with that classroom teacher.
For students with significant disabilities, does the IEP address the student’s
communication and emerging literacy skills to be taught during the 90-minute
uninterrupted block?
Memorandum
Page Four
May 25, 2005
Scheduling Considerations:
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Schedule pullout programs during non-reading times of the day.
Stagger classroom reading blocks throughout the school day so not all classrooms are
involved in the uninterrupted block at the same time.
Schedule pullout programs for elementary intermediate students during the time K-2
classrooms are scheduled in the reading block.
Prior to building the school schedule, consult with related service providers (therapists,
school psychologists, counselors) regarding scheduling preschool, middle or high school
sessions during the uninterrupted reading block.
Schedule special education testing for elementary intermediate, middle or high school
students during the time that K-2 students receive reading instruction.
Consider co-teaching models for the provision of reading instruction in grades K-2. The
regular and special education teachers may provide differentiated instruction in the core
reading program, group smaller numbers of students for more specialized instruction,
reteach specific skills and/or provide guided practice to individual students.
Suggestions for Avoiding Interruptions:
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Cover the intercoms or turn them off.
Communicate the importance of the uninterrupted reading block to parents, community,
and the central office.
Post note pads outside of classrooms for messages.
Place signs outside all classrooms indicating the uninterrupted reading time.
Use e-mail for faculty and parent communications.
Take care of student’s physical needs prior to the reading block.
Please contact Kathy Knighton (kknighto@access.k12.wv.us) or Linda Palenchar
(lpalench@access.k12.wv.us), Coordinators, Office of Special Education, at 558-2696 or
Beverly Kingery (bkingery@access.k12.wv.us) or Catherine Thompson
(catthomp@access.k12.wv.us), Coordinators, Office of Instructional Services, at 558-7805 with
additional questions or comments.
LB:KB:pc
c: Uninterrupted Reading Block Letter