CYPRESS

The Cypress School District is continuing to explore whether to expand the Individual Reading Plan that began last year. Under the plan, officials identify first-graders who are having difficulty reading. Instructors then provide the child with more individual attention and identify what barriers may be leading to the reading problems.

Sometimes students need to be read to at a slower pace or need to hear words repeated more often, said Trustee Donna Erickson. Other times poor attendance, hearing or speech problems can hinder a student’s progress, she added. At the end of the year, the parents are notified of the child’s reading level.

The district is considering whether to expand the program to second and third grade. Erickson said the reduction in class sizes has helped make this program possible because it gives teachers more time to provide students with individual attention.