Dear Parent/Guardian:

As you may be aware, the South Carolina Read to Succeed Act, which became law in 2014, aims to improve literacy and reading proficiency for all children in our state. The law includes some significant changes regarding promotion and retention of third grade students. Please note, these changes do not take effect until the 2017-2018 school year. The 2016-17 school year’s second grade students will be the first group of third grade students to be impacted by this portion of the Read to Succeed legislation.

The law states, "Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency at the end of third grade as indicated by scoring at the lowest achievement level on the state’s summative reading assessment that equates to Does Not Meet on the South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessments (SCREADY).." There are a number of exceptions to this requirement in the law. Your child’s principal will be able to discuss these exceptions with you.

Please be assured that our district’s goal is for all students to be proficient readers in the third grade and for no student to be retained for failing to demonstrate reading proficiency. The district is putting supports in place to improve student success. These supports may include additional instructional time, small group and individualized instruction, and targeted interventions. Classroom teachers and school administrators are receiving specialized literacy training and support from the school-based reading coach and consultants.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your child’s principal or your child’s teacher. You can also find information about Read to Succeed on the South Carolina Department of Education web page http://ed.sc.gov/instruction/office-of-early-learning-and-literacy1/.

ADDITIONAL READ TO SUCCEED (R2S) INFORMATION

Read to Succeed Frequently Asked Questions

Act 284, Read to Succeed legislation, was created in 2015 to address literacy performance in South Carolina and put in place a comprehensive system of support to ensure SC students graduate on time with the literacy skills they need to be successful in college, careers and citizenship. Act 284 provides for a strong assessment and intervention system for students kindergarten through twelfth grade with a goal of all students becoming proficient readers by the end of third grade.

Read to Succeed Frequently Asked Questions(PDF 102 KB -12/08/2016)