Literacy combines the skills of reading, writing and oral communication.

To be a literate person is to be an individual with the tools needed to lead a productive and fulfilling life. Facility with language provides myriad opportunities for growth, achievement and joy. One who is literate reads the Everett Herald and National Geographic to learn, Holes for enjoyment, and a Metro Transit schedule to find transportation to a Mariners game. She writes reports for her job as a chemist, completes charts for his job as a nurse, or explains in a letter to his son's teacher that William was absent because of a strep throat.

Strong literacy skills are essential for success and satisfaction in our personal, professional and community lives. The Washington State standards in reading, writing and communication delineate each and every one of the skills required for students to achieve competence and proficiency in these areas. The Everett Public Schools Literacy Department employs the State Essential Academic Learning Requirements and Grade Level Expectations to formulate our outcomes and create our curriculum maps.

A Reading Targets Calendar, as well as a Writing Focus Calendar at the secondary level and a Balanced Literacy Program throughout the elementary grades, coupled with both formative and summative assessments in reading and writing, help us monitor student growth and allow teachers and building and district leaders to adeptly plan for student learning.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." — Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

"We read to know we are not alone." -C.S. Lewis