Structured Literacy
Council Rock School District Literacy Mission and Vision
Literacy Mission:
Through our commitment to excellence in teaching and learning, we will provide systematic, equitable, evidence-based literacy instruction and experiences to all students in every curricular area through
- education of all stakeholders in the research, practices, and importance of structured literacy
- continual review of data to drive improved student outcomes
- academically rigorous, culturally relevant curriculum
Literacy Vision:
All students in Council Rock will demonstrate mastery in literacy as skilled readers, writers, and communicators equipped with the essential tools rooted in structured literacy for success in an ever-evolving world.
Structured Literacy: Empowering Every Learner
Recent legislation in Pennsylvania has brought a renewed focus on literacy, grounded in decades of scientific research about how children learn to read. Through Act 55, Act 135, and updates to Chapter 49 of the Pennsylvania Code, the state is taking a unified, evidence-based approach to reading instruction known as Structured Literacy. These changes are designed to ensure that all students, including those with dyslexia and other language-based learning challenges, receive the support they need to become successful readers.
Structured Literacy is a systematic, explicit approach to teaching reading that emphasizes the core language skills students need to decode, understand, and use language effectively. Instruction includes phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, the alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and deep understanding of language structure—including word parts (morphology), sentence construction (syntax), and meaning (semantics). To learn more about Structured Literacy in Pennsylvania, please refer to this booklet Introduction to Structured Literacy .