Disponible en: Español

Published On: November 23rd, 2020By

Aldine Helping Students Succeed in Literacy

Disponible en: Español

As the district moves forward to meet the reading level anchor goals of the strategic plan, it ensures students get the support they need in literacy.


The school district is tenaciously working to improve students’ literacy skills by implementing a new science-based approach this year. Leaders aren’t letting the pandemic prevent Aldine ISD from moving forward on the strategic plan’s anchor goals and priorities. Two of those goals are to have all rising first-grade students enter school ready to learn and have all third-graders reading at or above grade level.

Teachers are implementing high-quality lessons, both synchronously and asynchronously each day. So whether students are learning virtually or on campus, they engage with all aspects of their reading instruction.

To provide the best educational experience for our students, educators are providing high-quality literacy instruction. Aldine provides resources and many weekly supports, including recorded exemplar lessons, curriculum snapshot tools, coaching, a plethora of optional professional development offerings, and office hours for teachers. Additionally, resources and training sessions are created in response to our teachers’ and students’ unique needs. Ensuring equitable access to strong instructional practices is very important to changing literacy in Aldine ISD.

Providing foundational literacy skills for the district’s youngest learners is crucial. The high-quality curriculum has a technology component that students can access through their CLEVER accounts. AISD adopted Amplify’s integrated early literacy suite before the start of the school year. The publisher provides a Caregiver Hub with resources for parents to engage their students in literacy at home. Additionally, the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department has partnered with the Teaching and Learning Department to provide parent sessions to create a conducive home-learning space.

Aldine uses several interactive strategies — Amplify’s Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum, Wit & Wisdom’s English language arts (ELA) curriculum, and Benchmark Taller Workshop and Taller online resources and activities — to ensure students engage in literacy development. Students should be interacting with their teacher at all points in the lesson, responding to prompts, or discussing texts. As students internalize lessons, literacy teams will actively engage students during their synchronous learning times.

Gwendolyn Adams Lockett, program director of elementary school social studies, not only works for Aldine, but she also has two daughters enrolled in AISD schools. Adams Lockett lauds colleagues and teachers for their work to give students high-quality instruction and resources.

“As a parent of two Aldine students, I can attest that engaging and rigorous instruction is taking place in Aldine. Students’ courses are not filled with random activities, but proof of teachers’ thoughtful planning and development,” Adams Lockett said. “In my role as a program director, my job is to support and serve teachers, so they can, in turn, support and provide exceptional instruction to our students. It warms my heart to see teachers utilizing the tools and resources my colleagues and I have created and provided. It is wonderful to see the fruits of our labor in action and see evidence of student learning.”

The curriculum supports all types of learners (e.g., English language learners, students with dyslexia) by providing resources and various instructional techniques to move students progressively toward stronger understanding and, ultimately, greater independence in the learning process. These lessons can essentially be customized for any learner. When a teacher asks a question, usually the same students raise their hands to respond. Some students are shy and need to feel they are in a safe environment if they miss the answer. To ensure every voice is heard during discussions, teachers use questioning and randomization techniques in the classroom — virtually and on campus. Teachers will also promote and engage in using new vocabulary in responses and their writing as well.

Students with limited devices and resources have multiple opportunities to engage in learning throughout the day — either with their teacher, through Schoology, or the use of supplemental resources such as Imagine Learning or inSync Education. Demedia Edwards, director of literacy, stated that the district understands each family’s needs are different and encourages families to have students engage with learning as it fits their family schedule. Teachers are also available to answer families’ questions by phone or email every day. Providing feedback to families will ensure learning is happening at home. Teachers are expected to communicate to engage students and share progress, successes, and next steps in the learning process.

Besides providing learning packets to families without a computer, schools have found new ways to ensure students have access to high-quality instructional materials each day by distributing student novels and books and offering non-traditional ways of completing and submitting work (e.g., email, a cell phone, text).

Teachers have become very creative in connecting with students, and the CARES Team is an integral part of the work.

“The expectation is that we reach every student in Aldine ISD,” Edwards said. “Ensuring that every student continues to log in and engage with learning is a top priority for the district.”

Contact your child’s teacher to learn more about how the school and district are supporting students.

About the Author: Leticia Fehling

Director of Internal Communications