(adapted from press release)
State Superintendent Mark Johnson announced two new initiatives focused on literacy:
- Wolfpack WORKS
- A master literacy training by the Hill Center
Wolfpack WORKS (Ways to Optimize Reading/Writing for Kids Statewide) is a new pilot initiative to support first-year, K-2 teachers as they teach North Carolina’s youngest students how to read. For 2018-2019, it will support first-year, K-2 teachers in approximately 15 high-need districts across North Carolina as they learn to implement proven reading instruction strategies in their classrooms. Wolfpack WORKS will also create professional development modules focused on literacy supports and evidence-based reading instruction strategies that any North Carolina teachers can use with K-2 students.
Wolfpack WORKS is a cooperative effort between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina State University College of Education. Funding comes from the state’s Read to Achieve early literacy program.
The Hill Center will train 400 master literacy trainers in school districts across the state. Master literacy trainers will participate in online and in-person training on strategies for helping struggling readers, including the Hill Reading Achievement Program (HillRAP) intervention. These trainings build upon ongoing professional development provided by NC DPI and will further prepare the master literacy trainers to be valuable resources to their local districts by deepening their understanding of foundational reading skills and of a high-quality, personalized reading intervention. The Mebane Foundation is supplementing funding from the Read to Achieve program to make these trainings available statewide.