Reading & English Language Arts

Summit Academy is building a culture of academic excellence in literacy. We believe that all students are capable of reading and have the right to excellent literacy instruction.  Although each school has chosen a reading program that fits their students best, all ELA programs at each Summit Academy are aligned to the science of reading and Ohio’s Learning Standards for English Language Arts. This ensures that each student is provided abundant opportunities to interact with complex informational texts and literature. 

The instructional improvements we’ve undertaken are supported through rigorous staff professional development at all grade levels. Our staff participates in extensive training in the science of reading, accompanied by ongoing support to effectively implement these strategies. Many of our educators have completed mandated courses such as LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) and DEW Dyslexia training, with several actively pursuing certification as Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionists. 

Our commitment to enhancing teaching practice is evident through our two in-house Certified Local LETRS facilitators, dedicated to advancing educator proficiency. Emphasizing a Structured Literacy approach, each school integrates content delivery within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).

Structured Literacy provides systematic and explicit instruction in these areas:

In the mid-elementary years, students switch from learning to read to reading to learn. In Kindergarten through about second grade students are learning to read, meaning they are still acquiring those early literacy skills. Around the third grade, students begin reading to learn, meaning much of their content knowledge is gained through reading text: history, science, literature, mathematics. The early literacy skills should be fairly stable by this point, opening doors to worlds of knowledge through texts. At the middle and high school levels, students are interacting with content-rich, complex texts that build upon and deepen their background knowledge of many subject areas. The ELA skills of writing, grammar, and spelling are integrated into instruction at all grade levels. 

If certain skills are not developed within this timeline, Summit has that covered too with our DEW-approved literacy intervention programs. 

A Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework is central to meeting the needs of all students. This means we carefully monitor the effectiveness of our instruction and intensify that instruction based on student need. We screen each student and provide specific reading diagnostics when screening shows a potential skills gap. Using that data, we plan interventions and monitor each student’s response to that intervention. All students receive grade level core content, or what we call tier one instruction. Our intensified intervention and supports are always given to students in addition to tier one instruction, not instead of tier one instruction. This means we are working to close learning gaps without creating new ones. 

We believe that ALL students can learn to read proficiently, and that those positive learning outcomes in reading pave the path for student success after high school. 

Exciting things are happening here.