MCPS lays out midyear literacy plan with new 'fit block' and tighter Tier‑1 expectations
January 08, 2026 | Montgomery County Public Schools, School Boards, Maryland
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Montgomery County Public Schools staff presented a midyear literacy update on Thursday that focuses on strengthening Tier‑1 instruction and accelerating outcomes for emergent multilingual learners (EMLs) and students receiving special education services.
District leaders said the adopted CKLA curriculum is being delivered with high fidelity in many classrooms, but that the system must refine how Tier‑1 instruction is delivered so historically marginalized students have access to grade‑level content. To do that, MCPS is requiring an elementary‑level “fit block” — a designated portion of the school day in which schools deliver Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 supplemental instruction or enrichment based on data — and is expanding professional learning and cross‑functional teams to coach schools on co‑planning and co‑teaching models.
Presenters also shared early assessment snapshots: nearly 10,000 kindergarten students were assessed with DIBELS this fall; district leaders said 2,722 kindergarten EMLs and roughly 1,449 kindergarten students receiving special education services show differing patterns of risk and readiness. Staff highlighted that cross‑functional teams have logged 457 ELA‑related supports totaling 898 hours to date.
To create consistency, MCPS plans to finalize rubricized Tier‑1 expectations, develop a districtwide observational tool for administrators, and monitor implementation with progress checkpoints. Board members pressed staff to share numeric public targets and timelines for measuring impact; staff said they will report progress after the next assessment cycle and during scheduled learning‑walk rounds in February and April.
What to watch: district staff said success indicators will include improved district assessment scores (MAP‑R, DIBELS), higher pass rates on MCAP where applicable, and reductions in disproportionality across student subgroups. The board asked for slide decks with counts (not only percentages) and for disaggregated data on long‑term EML students and exit rates.
District leaders said the adopted CKLA curriculum is being delivered with high fidelity in many classrooms, but that the system must refine how Tier‑1 instruction is delivered so historically marginalized students have access to grade‑level content. To do that, MCPS is requiring an elementary‑level “fit block” — a designated portion of the school day in which schools deliver Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 supplemental instruction or enrichment based on data — and is expanding professional learning and cross‑functional teams to coach schools on co‑planning and co‑teaching models.
Presenters also shared early assessment snapshots: nearly 10,000 kindergarten students were assessed with DIBELS this fall; district leaders said 2,722 kindergarten EMLs and roughly 1,449 kindergarten students receiving special education services show differing patterns of risk and readiness. Staff highlighted that cross‑functional teams have logged 457 ELA‑related supports totaling 898 hours to date.
To create consistency, MCPS plans to finalize rubricized Tier‑1 expectations, develop a districtwide observational tool for administrators, and monitor implementation with progress checkpoints. Board members pressed staff to share numeric public targets and timelines for measuring impact; staff said they will report progress after the next assessment cycle and during scheduled learning‑walk rounds in February and April.
What to watch: district staff said success indicators will include improved district assessment scores (MAP‑R, DIBELS), higher pass rates on MCAP where applicable, and reductions in disproportionality across student subgroups. The board asked for slide decks with counts (not only percentages) and for disaggregated data on long‑term EML students and exit rates.
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