J.C. Lynch Elementary School

J.C. Lynch Elementary School
2025-2026 Literacy Plan

Thomas DeVine, principal

124 Hicks Road

Coward, South Carolina 29530

Wildcats Always LEAD the Way!  Love Learning, Excel in All They Do, 

Achieve Goals Together, and Do What is Right!

LETRS Questions:

·        How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volume 1 ONLY of LETRS?:

• 13 will finish Volume Two December, 2025.

• 3 will finish Volume Two April, 2026. 

·        How many eligible teachers in your school have completed Volumes 1 and 2 of LETRS?:

• 2 - Eaddy and Ward

·        How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 1 of LETRS this year (or have not yet started or completed Volume 1)?

• 1 - Ard

·        How many eligible teachers in your school are beginning Volume 2 of LETRS this year?

• 3- Solis, Baylor, Inscoe

·        How many CERDEP Pre-K teachers in your school have completed EC LETRS?

• 0

·        How many CERDEP  Pre-K teachers in your school are beginning EC LETRS?

• 2- Frazier and Johnson

Section A: Describe how reading assessment and instruction for all PreK-5th grade students in the school includes oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to aid in the comprehension of texts to meet grade‑level English/Language Arts standards.

At J.C. Lynch Elementary, we strive to keep our focus on academics and learning.  Beginning in 2024-2025, we implemented the Wonders curriculum from McGraw Hill in 5K-5th grade.  The curriculum places a focus on all of the components each day - oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  We have a two hour ELA block each day that provides for ample time for foundational skills, reading instruction, and writing instruction. Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year, we are implementing UFLI in kindergarten through second grade. UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) is a systematic, evidence-based program designed to strengthen foundational reading skills through explicit instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, and word recognition.  Additionally, we have The American Reading Company’s IRLA assessment and toolkits.  These resources are used daily during our sixty minute enrichment block and provide instruction in oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension as well.  During the enrichment block, students also have time to work on i-Ready and  have time for independent reading. 

Section B: Document how Word Recognition assessment and instruction for PreK-5th grade students are further aligned to the science of reading, structured literacy and foundational literacy skills.

We know that word recognition is imperative to growing our readers.  With our implementation of The American Reading Company’s reading assessment and teaching resources, a large focus of our kindergarten level readers is to build a bank of power words.  These power words are taught through lessons formed around best practices from the science of reading.  Students are assessed once or twice monthly to document progress.  As students grow as readers, the complexity of their needed skills increase.  Lessons within the ARC tool kits include more complex skills - such as decoding two syllable words, reading words with inflectional ending, recognizing vowel teams - all the way through Greek and Latin word parts.  Furthermore, the Wonders curriculum provides scripted instruction based around the science of reading. The implementation of UFLI in kindergarten through second grade strengthens alignment between assessment and instruction in word recognition for PreK–5 students. UFLI is grounded in the science of reading and follows the principles of structured literacy, providing explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and word recognition. This ensures that foundational literacy skills are taught in a way that is both developmentally appropriate and research-based, directly supporting our broader framework for word recognition assessment and instruction across grade levels.

Section C:  Document how the school uses universal screener data and diagnostic assessment data to determine targeted pathways of intervention (word recognition or language comprehension) for students in PreK-5th grade who have failed to demonstrate grade‑level reading proficiency. 

Our district uses universal screeners and diagnostic assessments to students in kindergarten through sixth grade.  At J.C. Lynch, we use the data received from iReady and the data we collect from The American Reading Company’s IRLA to determine the literacy needs of each student.  We use information from the MTSS Decision Tree and LETRS screeners (PAST) to diagnose the pathway for students.  Assessment through IRLA and EasyCBM progress monitoring is ongoing.  In K–2, UFLI progress monitoring supports structured literacy instruction in phonemic awareness and decoding, and LETRS (PAST) screeners pinpoint phonological awareness needs. Together, these tools ensure interventions are data-driven, research-based, and aligned with the science of reading.

Every four weeks, teachers along with the MTSS team meet to discuss the progress of students receiving intervention.  We verify if the intervention in place is working and if it isn’t successful we work together to find another intervention to support the student.

Section D: Describe the system in place to help parents in your school understand how they can support the student as a reader and writer at home.

Our school-wide Reading WIG this year is to read 45,000 books by the end of the school year.  At the beginning of the year, our principal filmed a video we shared on our social media explaining new initiatives at J.C. Lynch this year - and one of those was the 45,000 book WIG.  We send home a weekly home reading log and those books are counted in the WIG.  We keep parents and students updated on the count of books read.

We also partner with ArtsNow and they sponsor a book giveaway each year with information about literacy and ways to integrate art.  Additionally, we host family nights with focus around literacy, provide parents with resources, and books to take home.

Our district has a 30 for 30 initiative where we promise to parents that we will give 30 minutes of reading during the school day and we ask parents to read with their students for 30 minutes each night.  We host an annual event called Reading Under the Lights where parents play different literacy based games, pick out free books, and have time to read under the lights at the track.

Section E: Document how the school provides for the monitoring of reading achievement and growth at the classroom and school level with decisions about PreK-5th grade intervention based on all available data to ensure grade-level proficiency in reading.

Students take the iReady assessment three times a year.  IRLA reading levels are updated throughout the school year.  Twice monthly, we host a data dig where in addition to MTSS, we look at data for each student - note growth and target any opportunities for growth.  Our interventionist uses data gathered from baselines and LETRS PAST.

Section F: Describe how the school provides teacher training based in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills to support all students in PreK-5th grade.

Teachers who are eligible for LETRS are enrolled and actively participating.  Our Wonders curriculum provides training around the science of learning that is on demand.  In addition, our district provides monthly professional developments.

Section G: Analysis of Data

Section H:  Previous School Year SMART Goals and Progress Toward Those Goals

• Please provide your school’s goals from last school year and the progress your school has made towards these goals. Utilize quantitative and qualitative data to determine progress toward the goal (s). As a reminder, all schools serving third grade were required to use Goal #1 (below).

Section I: Current SMART Goals and Action Steps Based on Analysis of Data

• All schools serving students in third grade MUST respond to the third-grade reading proficiency goal. Schools that do not serve third grade students may choose a different goal. Schools may continue to use the same SMART goals from previous years or choose new goals. Goals should be academically measurable. The Reflection Tool may be helpful in determining action steps to reach an academic goal. Schools are strongly encouraged to incorporate goals from the strategic plan.