From Letting it Happen to Making it Happen: Driving Literacy Gains
Abigayle Swenson chose to be the District Literacy Lead (DLL) for Crosslake Community School, in Crow Wing County. That wasn’t the case for many of her counterparts.
“I was hearing about the READ Act everywhere, and a lot of it was happening by default,” says Abi. “Responsibilities were falling on district assessment and curriculum coordinators: I heard from a lot of people who were ‘volun-told’ to do it. It fell onto one person, or one department, to take full responsibility.”
To Abi, this is the most common pitfall she sees happening for her fellow DLLs: Being left to do their jobs alone, as a separate task, with limited authority and buy-in from district leaders.
“This work is not just on the DLLs,” says Abi. “Not even on the district- or school-level literacy team. If students don’t trust us, we’re not going to get through. Literacy is very important, but student and teacher needs are the prerequisite. That’s why we’re working toward a focus on relationships.”
“My superintendent sees my position as the hub on a wheel. It branches out to every other position: teachers, paras, kitchen staff, custodians. Every student has a favorite staff member, so they might have a way in with that student. A way to get them what they need. Every student is every adult’s responsibility.”
In addition to their buy-in and support, Abi’s leadership team also work to make it easy for her to attend the Regional Literacy Network (RLN) for Region 5, hosted by Sourcewell. These monthly networks give her and other DLLs an opportunity to meet and troubleshoot literacy challenges in person.
“My admin team is super supportive, but they don’t know how to support me in [every aspect of this job]. But they know I have these networks, full of people facing similar struggles. Thankfully, my school gives me the time built into my day to attend these. Some schools require professional development days to attend networks. But my leadership team knows this is such a rich experience that it’s worth making the time.”
“In just the last year or two, we’ve got a new Learning Management System for state testing. New standards. New policies and procedures,” says Abi. “The DLLs are all able to help each other out and share solutions. We have email threads where…we’ll solve each other’s problems within five minutes. We see each other, we know each other, we’re there for each other.”
“I probably wouldn’t still be in my position if I didn’t have [the RLN]. They’ve provided so much support and training that isn’t otherwise available for this position.”
Abi sees her district’s support as a major factor in her success, but not every DLL enjoys that same buy-in. For DLLs needing more support (or district leaders seeking ways to offer it), Abi encourages zooming out to make the conversation about more than “just” literacy.
“I said [to my district]: This isn’t just about literacy. It’s about systems,” says Abi. “We’ve been building out slowly, bringing more staff into the work, even getting them to come with me [to the RLNs]. We’re connecting the local literacy plan and my job description to how we’re choosing curriculum, measuring growth, measuring student achievement and teacher goals. We’re connecting it to everything…it can’t just fall into reading.”
“Literacy is in everything that we do, whether we call it out or not. Everyone is the literacy teacher.”
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Sourcewell is the service cooperative for Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena Counties (Region 5) in central Minnesota. School districts across Minnesota partner with Sourcewell for curriculum, cooperative purchasing, and a self-funded group health insurance option for public agencies.