After the successful implementation of full-day kindergarten in September 2016, the Early Literacy Committee of the Parkland School District moved to another project.

At the Dec. 20, 2016, board meeting, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development Kelly Rosario explained the endeavor.

“Full-day kindergarten was our first big thing,” Rosario said. “Next it will be 100 percent reading proficiency by grade three.

“Third grade is the transition between learning to read and reading to learn.

“We’ve got 20 percent of our kids who are struggling readers. We want to catch these kids as early as possible.”

She advised the board to become familiar with a new acronym, RBG3, reading by grade three.

Current kindergarten students will be initiators of the project.

The goal is for all of them to be proficient in reading and writing by the third grade as measured by assessments.

Rosario wants children to feel the power of believing they can improve.

Even if they can’t read now, they should have the desire to learn, she explained.

She noted district staff will address the basic needs of learners, looking for ways to improve readiness and communicate available resources to parents.

“We want to strengthen relationships with families earlier and support parents as teachers,” Rosario said. “We will address equity issues such as food, security and Internet access.

“We’ll also strengthen relations with pre-K and day care programs.

“We’ll work with reading specialists and principals toward implementation of the RBG3 goals.”