Act 20

To ensure full compliance with Wisconsin ACT 20, all K-3 staff will be required to participate in training sessions by July 1, 2025.  This training will focus on key areas outlined in the act, including the following:

1. Phonemic Awareness
2. Decoding Skills
3. Alphabet Knowledge
4. Letter-sound Knowledge
5. Oral Vocabulary
6. Rapid Naming
7. Phonological Awareness
8. Word Recognition
9. Spelling
10. Vocabulary
11. Listening Comprehension
12. Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension (when developmentally appropriate)

After reviewing available training options, the district has selected COX Campus for teacher training and CESA 6 Early Literacy Leadership training for administrators. This training is mandatory as we strive to maintain the highest standards of education and support the well-being of our students.  The training began in July 2024 and will continue throughout the 2024-25 school year.

ACT 20 outlines that schools in Wisconsin are required to provide science-based early literacy instruction in both universal and intervention settings. This instruction must be systematic and explicit and consists of the following: phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, background knowledge, oral language development, vocabulary, writing, comprehension, and reading fluency. School boards retain the authority to select the instructional materials they will adopt and implement, but these materials must align with the science-based early literacy definition in ACT 20. Additionally, ACT 20 prohibits the use of three-cueing instruction as defined in the statute.

After reviewing ELA curricula with strong science-based early literacy instruction, the district is in the process of adopting an English Language Arts curriculum K-5 for Board of Education approval to be implemented in the 2025-26 school year.

Early Literacy Screener

The statewide reading readiness screener, Pearson aimswebPlus, will take place 2-3 times per year. Students in K-3 will be assessed three times per year in the fall, winter and spring. Students in 4K will be assessed two times per year.

Parents and caregivers can expect to receive a notification with assessment results within 15 days following the completion of the statewide early literacy screener. Results will be viewable through NextPath. 

Diagnostic Assessments

Diagnostic assessments will be given to students who score 24th percentile or below  on the universal screener or who are referred for further evaluation by a teacher or parent/caregiver.

The Kaukauna Area School District has selected the i-Ready Assessment Suite and aimswebPlus as diagnostic reading tools. Diagnostic assessments will be completed within 10 days after the early literacy screener. Results will be sent home after the completion of the diagnostic. The KASD Act 20 Assessment Guide shows in detail which early literacy skills are assessed in each diagnostic assessment. Additional diagnostic assessments may be administered as needed to support a child’s instructional needs. 

Before early literacy screening begins, letters will go home to all 4K-3 students informing them of the screener and the purpose of the screener. This letter includes a description of the literacy skills measured on the reading readiness screener and will describe how  data will be shared with parents and caregivers.  

Families and caregivers will receive notification with the results of the early literacy screener via NextPath. Families and caregivers of students considered “at risk” based on the early literacy screener will receive an additional  notification sharing diagnostic assessment results and information about their child’s Personal Reading Plan (PRP) via NextPath.

A Personal Reading Plan (PRP) will be created for students who fall below the 25th percentile on the early literacy screener. The PRP outlines how the student will be supported in order to make progress toward reading readiness. The plan includes the following:

• Assessment data and areas of literacy skill need(s)
• Literacy goals and benchmarks
• A description of reading support to address literacy skill need(s)
• Progress monitoring
• Additional instructional services
• Support strategies for the parents/caregivers

Families receive a copy of the Personal Reading Plan via NextPath within 10 days of a new assessment. Updates on progress will be provided every 10 weeks.

To view KASD Literacy Supports, click here

Schools must have a policy for promotion from 3rd to 4th grade, based on a DPI model policy, by July 1, 2025.  This would go into effect September 1, 2027.

Please see Kaukauna Area School District’s Grade Advancement Policy here

*This policy will be updated following the release of DPI's model policy

Beginning in the school year 2024-2025, Wisconsin public schools, independent charter schools, and schools participating in the choice program are required to develop an Early Literacy Remediation Plan for grades 5K-3 and publish it to the district or independent charter school’s website. Kaukauna Area School District’s Early Literacy Remediation plan will be published to the district website by June 2025.

Both the KASD literacy page and individual Personal Reading Plans contain the following family literacy resources

Additionally, your partnership is valued in supporting your child’s literacy development. Collaborate with your child’s classroom teacher and support teachers on goals and strategies that support literacy development. 

Families are welcome to complete a family history survey to provide additional information to support reading plans. A link for the family history survey is available on each Personal Reading Plan. Families can also request a family history survey by contacting the district literacy coordinator. 

Information about dyslexia and other related conditions is linked to the district literacy page and is accessible through this link

The district website has information about assessments, curriculum, and summer school, click here to view 

The district website has information about community resources and special education policies and procedures, click here to view