Henrico Schools elementary students will have a new reading curriculum starting this fall, when all Virginia school divisions are required to implement the Virginia Literacy Act.
Sixth through eighth-graders who need extra reading support also will have a “Literacy Foundations” course taught by a reading specialist.
The VA Literacy Act, passed in 2022 for grades K-3 and expanded in 2023 to grades 4-8, mandates that all school systems adopt the new K-5 literacy curriculum and list of reading texts approved by the Virginia Department of Education beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the legislation after a 2021 study revealed that 35% of K-2 students in Virginia scored below expected literacy levels that year.
30 new reading specialists to be added for fall
The act also requires school divisions to employ one reading specialist per 550 elementary students and one per 1,100 middle school students, meaning that Henrico Schools will need to recruit 20 more elementary specialists and 10 more middle school specialists for 2024-2025. The division’s goal is to have one locally-funded, full-time reading specialist at each elementary school, along with a Title I reading coach at each Title I school.