Title and Board Action Requested
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Approve the Purchase of Sonday System Curriculum from Winsor Learning, Inc. and Authorize the Issuance of a Purchase Order for an Estimated Amount of $105,847.50
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Executive Summary
The Director of Elementary Programs, on behalf of the Superintendent of Schools, hereby requests the Board to approve the purchase of Sonday Curriculum from Winsor Learning, Inc. Winsor Learning, LLC is the supplier and publisher of this proprietary and copyrighted material.
The Florida Department of Education has recently received allocations under the Federal Government’s American Rescue Plan. School districts throughout the state have the opportunity to apply for and receive funds for High-Impact Reading Interventions and Targeted Supports. Statute mandates that interventions are provided to students who have reading deficits. Sonday System is an intervention on our state approved K-12 Reading Plan. This grant can only be used for closing the reading achievement gap.
The Sonday System is an Orton-Gillingham based curriculum that helps struggling readers catch up to their peers, regardless of their age or current reading level, whether or not they’ve been diagnosed with dyslexia or specific reading disabilities. Each lesson is structured, systematic and multisensory reading intervention for students at all stages of reading acquisition. Each lesson plan uses proven Orton-Gillingham methods to provide effective intervention in small-group settings.
The curriculum has easy-to-follow learning plans and contains all the elements of Multi-Sensory Structured Language Education (MSLE) instruction. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), and several Reading First offices have independently evaluated the Sonday System and found that the program contained the required elements for successful reading identified by the National Reading Panel (2000).
Each complete Sonday System Intervention Set, includes the Instructor Kit and Classroom Station, provides all necessary instructor and student materials for multiple small-group multisensory intervention lessons which can be used for those students demonstrating the need for intensive reading interventions.
The Sonday System curriculum also meets all requirements of Florida Statute 1008.25 to include: Scientifically researched and evidence-based reading instructional strategies that improve reading performance for all students, including explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension and multisensory intervention strategies.
These kits are being purchased to provide to schools to account for growth in student population and teacher growth.
Additionally, we are purchasing four days of “Train-the-Trainer” professional development. Four of our site-based coordinators will be trained as trainers and will then be able to provide on-going support for all teachers in the county.
My Contact
Tiffany Howard
Director of Elementary Programs
352-797-7000 ext. 433
howard_t@hcsb.k12.fl.us
2018-23 Strategic Focus Area
Pillar 1: Student Achievement
Financial Impact
See attached budget sheet.
If expenditure is not currently budgeted, this will serve as the budget amendment when Board approved. If the agenda item includes the purchase of goods or services, the funds requested are an anticipated amount and may fluctuate depending on such factors as current market conditions, product availability, additional funding sources, and the needs of the District. Should the actual cost exceed the anticipated amount, the Board approves the additional cost, after review by the superintendent, but not in excess of the funds available in the site’s approved annual budget.