Wisconsin Early Literacy Coaching Program

The Wisconsin Early Literacy Coaching Program will support progress toward the school's system and instructional goals related to early literacy (5K - 3rd grade). The coach will facilitate professional learning, as well as serving as a system and instructional coach for the school. The Wisconsin Early Literacy Coaching program will focus on refining literacy practices that will improve student reading proficiency through systematic and explicit science-based early reading instruction that does not incorporate three-cueing in 5K - 3rd grade with an emphasis on addressing achievement disparities. Early literacy coaches will collect and analyze early literacy data to design an early literacy system that results in responsive instruction for each and every student. This includes supporting the work of 5K-3rd grade educators and administrators to ensure universal instruction and the continuum of supports result in all students meeting grade-level reading expectations. The early literacy coach will work exclusively as an early literacy coach and may not be assigned other duties during the contracted coaching period. The DPI Office of Literacy shall provide professional learning in alignment with Wis. Stat. ß115.39(2)(b) that early literacy coaches must successfully complete. Early literacy coaches shall provide data as outlined in Wis. Stat. ß115.39(4)(e) to the DPI Office of Literacy. The early literacy coach and a school team that includes the building principal will attend a foundational training in Wisconsin's Framework for Multi-Level Systems of Support, through the Wisconsin Multi-level Systems of Support Project, supported by each CESA. The early literacy coach may be an employee of a local education agency (LEA) or a contracted employee. Supervision and evaluation of the early literacy coach shall be the responsibility of Omro.

Omro and the early literacy coach will work together to meet contract deliverables, which are outlined in Attachment 1 on page 5 of this document: https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/wi-reads/Coaching/SAMPLE_Coaching_Contract_for_App_-_12-10-25.pdf

Requirements:

The candidate must have all the following:

• hold or eligible to hold a Wisconsin reading specialist license (17/5017);
• meet all requirements in the school or district's background check process; in the event that a school does not have or require a background check, the Agency must ensure that a criminal background check that adheres to the terms of the Wisconsin Early Literacy Coaching Program contract is conducted on the early literacy coach;
• knowledge and demonstrated use of explicit and systematic instruction and assessment practices in all the following areas of science-based early literacy in 5K - 3rd grade: phonological awareness (including phonemic awareness); oral language development; phonics; background knowledge; vocabulary; writing; comprehension; and fluency;
• knowledge and demonstrated use of techniques for explicit and systematic instruction for 5K - 3rd grade that do not use three-cueing;
• knowledge and demonstrated use of instruction and assessment strategies to address reading achievement disparities in 5K - 3rd grade (including at least one or more of the following: students with IEPs, characteristics of dyslexia, who are culturally and/or linguistically diverse, who live in poverty and English or multilingual learners);
• successful experience delivering and/or supporting K-12 literacy instruction as an elementary teacher (e.g., classroom, special education, English- or multi-lingual learner, or reading teacher), a coach working in 5K - 3rd grade, building or district administrator, or district reading specialist;
• knowledge of best practices in early literacy coaching;
• knowledge of principles of adult learning (such as those included in Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Development);
• knowledge and demonstrated application of strategies to build relationships with adults, ability to communicate clearly (including in writing), and ability to collaborate with teachers and administrators in one-on-one, small or large groups, and in other settings to improve students' reading achievement; and
• understanding of Wisconsin Standards for ELA (2020), especially in 5K through 3rd grade

Qualifications:

To be qualified to be an early literacy coach, the candidate must have four of the following eight qualifications:

1. Understands and can apply best practices in early literacy coaching as demonstrated by recent completion of Coaching: Cornerstone of Change or expected or developing in all areas of the coaching model provided by the DPI

2. As part of job responsibilities, has experience coaching individual or small groups of teachers through a process of analyzing student learning data (including informal assessment data such as observation notes, classroom assessments, and reading or writing samples) and adjusting instruction accordingly

3. Has experience conducting classroom visits to collect data about adult practice to inform next steps in coaching or professional learningAs part of job responsibilities, has experience planning and facilitating professional learning for educators and leaders serving 5K - 3rd grade about explicit and systematic instruction in science-based early literacy without using three-cueing; providing instructional coaching for continuous improvement

4. Applies principles of adult learning in large and small group facilitation

5. Experience coaching teachers in evidence-based literacy instruction and assessment strategies to address achievement disparities in reading, including modeling or teaching side-by-side with a teacher to strengthen the teacher's use of a particular instructional strategy

6. Has experience identifying and removing barriers in universal instruction in reading to address achievement disparities

7. Understands and can coach systems in using Wisconsin's Framework for Multi-Level Systems of Support (MLSS)