The information below is intended to inform parents, caregivers, and the school community about how the Herman Neosho Rubicon School District is implementing the required components of 2023 Wisconsin Act 20. The purpose of this legislation is to strengthen early literacy learning in Wisconsin’s schools in the hopes that all students will reach grade-level proficiency in reading by the end of grade 3. The HNR School District aims to provide high quality literacy instruction, targeted support, and comprehensive assessment systems in order to support this goal. By working together with families, the district is committed to fostering reading success for all students.

For more information about Wisconsin Act 20, please visit the links below:

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2023/related/acts/20 

https://dpi.wi.gov/wi-reads 

Required Reading Training

What reading training is required for educators?

All K-3 teachers, principals where there are grades K-3, and reading specialists must begin training on science-based literacy instruction by July 1, 2025. This must be from an approved list.

All 4K-4th grade literacy and special education teachers at HNR will utilize Cox Campus Structured Literacy Training Modules beginning in the spring of 2024.  Cox Campus is an approved training vendor as defined within the ACT 20 guidelines. HNR School District literacy leaders (reading specialists, elementary principal) have taken part in the Impactful Early Literacy Practices Leadership Consortium provided by CESA 6, which also meets the requirements of Act 20 guidelines.

Curriculum & Instruction

What type of early literacy instruction and intervention do schools need to provide?

Act 20 states that all Wisconsin schools are required to provide science-based early literacy instruction in both universal and intervention settings. Science-based early literacy instruction is defined as instruction that is systematic and explicit and consists of all the following:

• Phonological awareness

• Phonemic awareness

• Phonics

• Building background knowledge

• Oral language development

• Vocabulary building

• Instruction in writing

• Instruction in comprehension

• Reading fluency

School boards retain the independent authority to select the early literacy instructional materials they will adopt and implement. Those instructional materials are required to meet the definition of “science-based early literacy instruction” found in Act 20.

HNR continues to align all literacy curriculum to the WI Model Academic Standards.  In order for students to demonstrate proficiency in the areas emphasized within those standards, HNR continues to utilize core instructional resources that embed the principles of the science of reading body of research. In the fall of 2024, our 5K-3rd grade classrooms began utilizing UFLI Foundations as the core instructional resource for systematic and explicit foundational literacy instruction (phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics, high-frequency word recognition). The district continues to use the Units of Study in Reading and Writing to provide students instruction and support in the areas of fluency, oral language/vocabulary development, and reading comprehension, as well as writing instruction. Students engage in topic-based units of study using text sets to build background knowledge, apply their reading skills, and become independent readers and writers. 

The purpose of these resources is to ensure that early literacy learners are provided with a comprehensive language arts program that supports all strands of the reading rope (Scarborough, 2001), provides high levels of student engagement, and allows for responsive instruction based on students’ varying levels of need.

Scarborough, H. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (DiS) abilities : Evidence, theory, and practice. Handbook for Research in Early Literacy, 97–110. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10015528187 

Assessments

What early literacy assessments are required by Act 20?

4K Assessment

Students are to be assessed twice during the school year using a fundamental skills screening assessment selected by the DPI. 

• Fall: Before the 45th day of the school year 
• Spring: Prior to 45 days left in the school year.

5K-3 Assessment

At least 3 universal screenings happen during the school year.

• Fall: Before the 45th day of the school year 

• Winter: During the middle of the school year
• Spring: Prior to 45 days left in the school year.

Universal screenings must include phonemic awareness, decoding, alphabet knowledge, letter-sound knowledge, oral vocabulary. Parents and caregivers can expect to receive a letter or email within 15 days of the scoring of the statewide early literacy screener. A diagnostic assessment must be used when a universal screening assessment indicates a pupil is at-risk (below 25th percentile). This occurs no later than the second Friday of November for the Fall assessment or within 10 days after the 2nd universal screening.  Diagnostic assessments must also be given within 20 days when a teacher or parent suspects a student has characteristics of dyslexia and submits a request.

HNR School District administers the 4K-3rd grade early literacy screener via aimswebPlus as required by Act 20 (for more detailed information about the measures tested at each grade level, see the WI Act 20 Assessment Matrix). 

HNR also utilizes aimswebPlus measures for the required diagnostic assessments for students who score below the 25th percentile on the reading readiness screener within 10 days of receiving screener results. Additional, locally selected diagnostic assessments may be used to provide a deeper understanding of a student’s literacy skills and inform instruction/intervention. For more information regarding the specific diagnostic process used. During assessment, a variety of literacy skills are assessed, including…

• Phonemic Awareness: This skill involves recognizing and manipulating the individual sounds in words.  Tasks might include identifying the first or last sounds in a word or blending sounds together to make a word (ex: /c/ + /a/ + /t/ = cat).

• Oral Vocabulary refers to knowing the meanings of words when heard or spoken.  Tasks might include learning new words through conversations, storytelling, shared reading, and understanding these new words in a variety of contexts. 

• Alphabet Knowledge: This involves recognizing and naming letters, both uppercase and lowercase. Tasks include matching letters with pictures, playing games, that involve letter recognition. 

• Letter Sounds Knowledge: This skill is about knowing the sounds that each letter or combination of letters makes.  Tasks may include saying the sound when a letter is shown, identifying beginning sounds or matching letters to their sounds.

• Decoding Skills: Decoding is the ability to slide sounds together to read words by connecting letters to their sounds.  Tasks might include reading simple words, sounding out new words, and practicing reading short sentences. 

The diagnostic assessment process also includes an opportunity for a student’s parent/guardian to complete a family history survey to provide additional information about learning difficulties in the student’s family.  HNR elicits this information from families as a part of our yearly registration process, ensuring that we have the information on file for consideration for any student who may be considered at-risk following screening in fall, winter, or spring.

A legal guardian has the right to submit a request for diagnostic assessment at any time, including the right to request an evaluation for special education. To make this request, please reach out to the building principal. 

Family Communication

What reading information are schools required to share with families?

Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, schools must provide parents and families with the results of the reading readiness screener (aimswebPlus) no later than 15 days after the assessment is scored in an understandable format that includes all of the following:

• The pupil's score on the reading readiness screener.
• The pupil's score in each early literacy skill category is assessed by the reading readiness screener.
• The pupil's percentile rank score on the reading readiness assessment, if available.
• The definition of “at-risk” and the score on the reading readiness assessment that would indicate that a pupil is at-risk.
• A plain language description of the literacy skills the reading readiness assessment is designed to measure.

If a child is promoted to 4th grade without completing their personal reading plan, parents must be notified in writing along with a description of the reading interventions that child will continue to receive.

At HNR, families will receive notification and information throughout the assessment process. Families are notified of assessment results, shared within 15 days of assessment score availability. When diagnostic assessments are utilized, additional information specific to those results and subsequent instructional support (a personal reading plan, or PRP) will also be shared with families. A summary of this assessment and communication process is shown below:

As an additional resource, families can use this guide, in addition to grade-level specific recommendations from their child’s teacher, to find more ideas for how to support literacy skill development at home. 

Student Supports

What must be included in a personal reading plan?

If students are identified as at-risk (below the 25th percentile) on a universal screening assessment or diagnostic assessment, a personal reading plan must be created that includes:

• The specific early literacy skill deficiencies
• Goals and benchmarks for the pupil's progress toward grade-level literacy skills
• How progress will be monitored, a description of interventions and additional instructional services being provided
• The science-based reading programming the teacher will use
• Strategies for the parent to support grade-level literacy skills, and any additional services available and appropriate
• Schools will provide a copy of the personal reading plan to parents as well as provide progress updates after 10 weeks.

Personal Reading Plans (PRPs) will be developed for HNR students who score below the 25th percentile on the screener. The district reading specialist, along with the classroom teacher and/or interventionist, will develop and implement Personal Reading Plans to support students to develop the skills necessary to meet their literacy goals. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, this plan will be created in NextPath, our student learning data platform, and will include all required information. Plans will be shared with families via email or through the NextPath platform. All plans will be monitored frequently and progress updates will be shared with families at least every 10 weeks. For students whose diagnostics show that the original screener was not accurate, or that intensive intervention may not be necessary, Personal Reading Plans will note how progress will be monitored on a consistent basis to ensure student success.

Exit Criteria & Summer Reading Support

How does a student exit a personal reading plan?

In 5K through grade 2, students can exit personal reading plans by demonstrating adequate progress on grade-level skills and assessments. Districts may use universal screening assessments and progress monitoring measures to determine adequate progress and proficiency on grade-level assessments.

• 5K will use the measures of Nonsense Word Fluency and Phoneme Segmentation. 
• Grades 1 -2 will use the measure of Oral Reading Fluency.

Educators must discuss the exit process and the details about what sorts of support and monitoring may need to stay in place temporarily after exiting a personal reading plan with families.

For grade 3, Wis. Stat. §§ 118.016 states that a 3rd grade student who has a personal reading plan is considered to have completed the personal reading plan if parents/caregivers and the school agree the student has met the goals in the personal reading plan and the student scores at or above grade-level on the reading portion of the Wisconsin Forward Exam in grade 3 (118.016(5)(d)); the Forward Exam requirement will go into effect on September 1, 2027.  This is the only place Wis. Stat. §§ 118.016 details the completion of a personal reading plan.

If/when a student has met the above criteria, HNR students may be eligible to exit their personal reading plan. The district reading specialist will provide a recommendation to families when a student meets the exit criteria.  Families are encouraged to meet with the team if they are not in agreement with the district's recommendation. 

Promotion Policy

How does Act 20 affect a district’s promotion policy?

Schools must have a policy for promotion from 3rd to 4th grade, based on a DPI model policy, by July 1, 2025.  This plan must go into effect Sept 1, 2027.

The HNR Board of Education approved a promotion policy in May 2025.  Beginning in September 2027, any student that is promoted to fourth grade without exiting their personal reading plan will be provided with the following supports during elementary school:

1. Targeted, tiered instructional interventions, progress monitoring, and supports to remediate the identified areas of deficiency; 
2. Notification to the student’s parent or guardian, in writing, that the student pupil did not complete the personal reading plan that and includes a description of the intensive instructional services and supports that will be provided to the student pupil to remediate the identified areas of reading deficiency; and
3. An intensive summer reading program each summer until the student scores at grade-level in reading on the state assessment.

Early Literacy Remediation Plan

What information are school districts required to publicly post?

Act 20 requires each school district to articulate and post an early literacy remediation plan that includes all of the following: 

• The name of the diagnostic reading assessment the school district uses
• A description of the reading interventions the school district uses to address characteristics of dyslexia
• A description of how the school district monitors pupil progress during interventions, including the tools used and their frequency
• A description of how the school district uses early literacy assessment results to evaluate early literacy instruction
• A description of the parent notification policy that complies with Act 20.  

School districts are still required to publicly post the academic standards that they use and to provide a link to Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions on their school district website.

All of the aforementioned components comprise our Early Literacy Remediation Plan. In line with state requirements, the HNR School District uses a variety of assessments to identify students who need help with reading, including those with symptoms of dyslexia. Teachers use these assessments to understand each student's needs and plan the best way to support them. Support plans include a variety of interventions and/or instructional strategies such as teaching how to recognize sounds and patterns, practicing reading skills, and providing direct instruction on language and spelling. All students receive regular practice with reading and are given feedback to help them improve. To monitor progress, students are assessed multiple times throughout the school year, and caregivers are notified of student progress following assessments. For students receiving personal reading plans, progress is reviewed more frequently to inform any necessary instructional changes to ensure student growth.

The HNR School District values continuous improvement in literacy practice. The district will provide training from an accredited teacher training program as well as internal coaching and support to all 4K-4th grade teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists, and administrators as required. 

Each year the district as a whole will also review early literacy assessment results, including universal screening data, Wisconsin Forward data, and summative classroom assessments to evaluate early literacy instruction and develop plans for continued improvement. 

The role of the district reading specialist includes:

• Providing intensive interventions
• Overseeing the literacy curriculum
• Supporting the curriculum review process
• Being part of the continuous improvement process
• Providing professional development aligned to high leverage literacy practices
• Providing district leadership around continuous improvement
• Coaching teachers and teams around best practices in literacy
• Providing parent/family communication
• Providing guidance and input around hiring and onboarding staff