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School Board takes next step to intensify drive for literacy gains By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com
JOHNS CREEK HIGH SCHOOL/PROVIDED
Johns Creek swim team takes title Johns Creek High School swimmers continued their streak Feb.3, when the boys swim and dive team won its third 6A state championship in a row at the Georgia Institute of Technology Aquatic Center in Atlanta. It’s the team’s fourth state title in the past five years. Marist School followed in second place, 26 points behind.
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FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County School Board voted to move forward with the third edition of a program designed to sharpen instructor’s skills in teaching reading. The Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program, which carries a price tag of approximately $1.48 million, was passed unanimously at a Feb. 7 work session and will join a block of other topics set for formal approval at the Feb. 23 School Board meeting. The curriculum designed for teachers, also called LETRS, is based on “the science of reading.” It trains teachers on “five essential pillars of reading,” phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It also instructs on writing, spelling and oral language. The school system has already implemented versions of the program. Fulton County Schools Chief Academic Officer Cliff Jones said the third edition of the program is like the newest edition of a textbook. Fulton County Schools launched the program in 2018 at the prompting of Schools Superintendent Mike Looney. When COVID-19 hit, the need for early literacy education increased.
See LITERACY, Page 15