Our Literacy Beliefs

OPES Literacy Beliefs

1. We believe students should have easy access to high quality texts, decodable texts, a variety of genres and that they should have the opportunity for choice over the types of books they read with ample time.
2. We believe our goal is to develop proficient readers so that they may be successful participants in the real world.
3. We believe students grow best, as readers, when they have opportunities for individualized and small group instruction.
4. We believe teachers must have a strong knowledge of their students’ reading behaviors as well as a skilled repertoire of teaching strategies (including Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary and  Comprehension) to make the most impact on reading achievement.
5. We believe reading and writing should be integrated into all content areas.
6. We believe comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading and students must be able to communicate about what they read. 
7. ​We believe students need authentic experiences and purposes for reading and writing.