Core

Item 23.   Standards of practice for core addresses materials & instructional strategies AND has been communicated to staff

Recommendations

Core reading instruction or Tier 1, should be clearly identified and agreed upon by staff. Standards of practice, which may also be known as Common Agreements or Non-Negotiables, ensure that all students receive high-quality, consistent reading instruction that is carefully sequenced and coordinated. Though these Standards of Practice do not describe, in detail, how every minute of a 90 minute reading block needs to be spent, they do help to ensure equity across different classrooms and provides an outline for the basic instruction and curriculum that all students in your district should be receiving.

Your core standards of practice should include agreements around:

  • The amount of time that will be spent in core (e.g. 90 minutes for elementary reading)
  • The curricular materials that will be used by all teachers
  • The instructional strategies that will be used by all teachers

Resources