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Literacy

Students sitting around a table discussing a book.

Our mission is to nurture and enhance the literacy development to ensure that every Edina learner meets or exceeds development milestones in literacy achievement.

A comprehensive, effective elementary literacy program is a powerful vehicle that ensures all students become successful, independent readers, writers, communicators, and thinkers.

Comprehensive Literacy Plan

Implementation of a new Comprehensive Literacy Plan began in fall 2021. It is a key component of the district’s 2020-21 Strategic Plan offering a “continuous improvement plan for literacy, readiness, inclusiveness and rigor for all” and ensures Edina students will be “college, career and civic-ready.” The new plan is driven from within each school by a site literacy team that is expected to meet district implementation outcomes. The district literacy team will also create alignment with multi-tiered systems of support, social emotional learning, and professional learning communities. The plan encompasses early learning through grade 12.

Pre-K - Grade 12 Comprehensive Literacy Plan

Read Well by Third Grade requires that school districts create a Local Literacy Plan as a guide to ensure that all students are reading well by the end of third grade. This plan includes clear definition of proficiency expectations, assessments and process of identification of students with characteristics of dyslexia and significant reading difficulties, process for parent notification and involvement, intervention and instructional supports, professional development planning, curriculum aligned to MN ELA Standards, and support for Multilingual learners. This plan is ongoing and is annually updated.

Reading is essential to success in our society. The ability to read is highly valued and important for social and economic advancement...Current difficulties in reading largely originate from rising demands for literacy, not from declining absolute levels of literacy. In a technological society, the demands for higher literacy are ever increasing, creating more grievous consequences for those who fall short.”

National Research Council, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children

In Edina Public Schools, we believe that literacy is the fundamental academic asset and that literacy skills are among the most critical skills our students learn. The ability to read, write, speak, listen, view, visually represent, and think in order to communicate and contribute to society has a direct bearing on the quality of our students’ lives. We are committed to ensuring that all students are grade-level proficient in reading and we believe that the core curriculum and interventions we have in place are the best way for us to achieve that goal.

More than any other ability, the ability to use language and read defines the parameters of a student’s potential to learn as well as his or her ability to demonstrate proficiency in standards across the curriculum.


 

Edina Grows Readers Logo

When teachers began noticing that, over time, students were choosing to read outside of school less, they began to evaluate how to build a district and at-home partnership to encourage students to read.  

Out of their brainstorming, research, and collaboration, “Edina Grows Readers” was born. Caroline Linden, the K-12 Literacy and Language Arts Coordinator for the district, explained that the research is there -- reading is important for kids, both reading personally and being read to. “We give kids time to read in school. That is something we have direct control over,” she said. “The thought process was how can we partner to encourage students to read outside of school. Any way we can influence that is going to have a positive impact on student achievement.”

“Edina Grows Readers” serves as a district framework to support and encourage families with reading outside of school. The goal of the campaign is to increase the amount of time students read outside of school through book suggestions, reminders about the importance of reading, and other resources for improved literacy. The team of teachers and administrators who helped develop the campaign hope to see increased engagement with reading and a newly cultivated love of reading together in families.

“The purpose of Edina Grows Readers aligns with the EPS mission, which is to work in partnership with families and the community to educate all individuals in order to become lifelong learners. To be a lifelong learner is to be a reader. Edina Grows Readers supports this mission by encouraging daily reading by all, reading outside of school, and promoting a culture of reading in the broader Edina community.”


 

Books Kids Love

The Edina Grows Readers “Books Kids Love” list is updated each month! The list is a way for students to share titles of books they love with others. While these are books kids love, families/guardians ultimately decide which books are appropriate for their children. Most books included on the list are available at the Hennepin County Public Library. Check back monthly for new titles!

Not a student?

Get connected with Edina Reads: a community wide reading program that encourages active reading, lifelong learning, and thoughtful conversation, sponsored by the Edina Community Foundation.

January 2023 Book Lists