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Assistant Superintendent

Dr. Shannon Goss
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Shannon Goss
Assistant Superintendent

Phone:  (440) 427-6000
Email:  sgoss@ofcs.net

Dr. Shannon Goss began serving as Assistant Superintendent in August 2024.  Dr. Goss has been a dedicated member of the Olmsted Falls school community since 2008, originally hired as a School Psychologist.  She then transitioned to the role of Director of Student Services, where she spent seven years prior to her appointment as Assistant Superintendent.  Dr. Goss continues to be a core member of the central office administrative team and has demonstrated leadership practices centered on curriculum, assessment and intervention, student and staff wellness, academic and positive behavior program development, family connection, and professional learning opportunities for staff.

As assistant superintendent for Olmsted Falls School District, Dr. Goss oversees the development and implementation of all instructional programs for the district.  The assistant superintendent works collaboratively with administrators and staff to ensure the alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment to maximize achievement and growth for all students. This includes the coordination of professional development for all certificated staff. The focus of the Olmsted Falls School District is to provide an instructional program that is delivered in a manner that is grounded in current research pertaining to how students learn most efficiently, effectively and appropriately. The focus of the assistant superintendent is to work with the superintendent, administrative team, and staff to clearly define what students should know and be able to do, and to clearly articulate it to them prior to and during the instructional process through the use of feedback. The assistant superintendent works with the instructional staff to develop measures to determine whether or not students are indeed making progress in their learning and assists in creating academic supports to those who are struggling. Further, the assistant superintendent works with educators to assist in the creation of extension opportunities to those students who are ready for more advanced learning concepts. Additional information on the District's Gifted Education Program is located below.   

OFCS GIFTED EDUCATION PROGRAM

Anne Cleary - Coordinator
(Gifted Intervention Specialist at Olmsted Falls Intermediate School)    Tel 440.427.6572   acleary@ofcs.net

In accordance with House Bill 282, the Olmsted Falls School District provides information regarding the identification of gifted students. Specifically, OFCS has information available regarding the district’s identification procedures, policies and service plans. Brochures and forms on the District's Gifted Education program are available for download on the right side of this web page.

After reviewing the information, should you feel the student is a candidate for gifted identification, please complete the Referral Form and Permission for Assessment, and then return it to the Gifted Resource teacher at the student’s school by Friday of the third week in September for fall testing, or Friday of the third week in March for spring testing. The procedure may involve several tests being administered to the student and a significant amount of time out of the regular classroom.  

Please note that identification, according to House Bill 282, does not necessarily mean placement in our gifted education program.  If you have any questions, please contact Anne Cleary, Gifted Education Coordinator, at (440) 427-6572.


DYSLEXIA INFORMATION

Ohio's Dyslexia Law

Effective April 12, 2021, the 133rd Ohio General Assembly passed legislation (ORC 3323.25, 3323.251, 3319.077 and 3319.078) concerning the screening of and intervention for children with dyslexia.  

Ohio’s dyslexia support laws (ORC 3323.25 and 3323.251) define dyslexia as “a specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the person’s intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities, which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language.” 

Students with dyslexia tend to have difficulty processing speech sounds, decoding words, and reading fluently. Such difficulties often lead to slow and inaccurate reading, inadequate comprehension, and difficulty with written and/or spoken language. 

Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook

The guidebook contains best practices and methods for universal screening, intervention and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies. For more information, refer to this linked resource.

 

Olmsted Falls City Schools Dyslexia Screening Plan 

In accordance with the Ohio Dyslexia Requirements, Olmsted Falls City Schools Screening plan is listed below:

Tier I Universal Screener Administration- 2024-2025 School Year:  

  • This school year (2024-2025), students during the Fall of their first grade year will be administered the Aimsweb as our Tier 1 dyslexia screener.    

  • Parents of students in OFCS  wishing to have their child screened for characteristics of dyslexia not within this grade band, should contact their student’s school principal.  

  • Please note that any students who enroll in 1st grade during the 24-25 school year will be given a Tier 1 Dyslexia Screener within 30 days of enrollment.  Staff members may also request students to be screened.

 

Tier II (Intervention-Based Diagnostic) Screener

  • Students determined to be at risk from the Tier I dyslexia screener will be progress-monitored for up to six weeks. Students who do not make progress will be administered a Tier II dyslexia screener to determine the next steps regarding intervention. 

 

Reaching ALL Students

As stated in Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook, students who experience risk for dyslexia do not necessarily have dyslexia. The goal of early identification of risk is the provision of early intervention that can prevent or minimize the impact of reading difficulties such as dyslexia.

 

Additional Information:

 

In OFCS, we implement a Structured Literacy curriculum that supports ALL students' needs, including those identified as needing additional support in Language Arts. As referenced in Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook, Structured Literacy is an instructional approach that describes the type of explicit and systematic reading instruction supported by research. Structured Literacy doesn’t refer to a single instructional method or program. Several effective instructional and intervention programs are available for implementing a structured literacy approach. These programs share the following characteristics:  

Image from: ReadWell Tutor

 

The Olmsted Falls City School District currently implements the following curriculum, intervention and/or training that support literacy:

  • Phonemic Awareness: Heggerty (K), FUNdations (K-2)

  • Phonics: FUNdations (K-2), Geodes decodable text

  • Fluency: Heggerty, FUNdations, Geodes decodable texts, poetry 

  • Vocabulary: FUNdations, Lucy Calkins Revised Units of Study, Fountas & Pinnell Classroom 

  • Comprehension: FUNdations, Lucy Calkins Revised Units of Study, Fountas & Pinnell Classroom (Interactive Read Aloud-IRA, Guided Reading-GR, and Shared Reading-SR) Fountas and Pinnell Classroom

 

OFCS will pilot Benchmark Advance in grades K-6 for core ELA with select teachers during the 24-25 school year.  

 
  • Evidenced Based Intervention Program: 

    • Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI)
      May be used for Tier 2 intervention in grades 1-3 for Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension

    • Heggerty as an Intervention
      May be used for Tiers 1, 2 or 3 intervention in kindergarten for phonemic awareness

    • FUNdations Tiered Intervention
      May be used for Tier 2 intervention in grades K-3 for Phonemic Awareness,
      Phonics, and Fluency

    • Wilson Reading System
      May be used for Tier 3 intervention for Phonics and Fluency

    • ImagineMYPath may be used for intervention in K-5 for all areas of reading

 

OFCS will pilot Steps to Advanced Benchmark for intervention with select teachers during the 24-25 school year. 
 

  • Teacher training: 

    • LETRS

    • Science of Reading

    • Wilson Certified 

    • With all curriculum programs used in district

 

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

What reading screening/diagnostic assessments are used with our students in the Olmsted Falls City Schools to guide instruction and intervention?

In OFCS, we use reading assessments approved by the Ohio Department of Education to meet the requirements of Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee and Ohio’s Dyslexia Support Law. For Dyslexia Screening, we use Aimsweb Plus.  Additionally, we guide our instruction and progress monitoring through a combination of assessments which include NWEA MAPs, Aimsweb, Fundations, Running records, and Curriculum-based assessments. 

How will you know if your current combination of programming and instruction is effective in promoting student growth and achievement?

In the Olmsted Falls City Schools, we use our variety of assessment data to monitor our instructional impact on student learning. We monitor our progress data regularly within our professional learning communities, during our intervention team check-ins, and at the district level. This allows us to follow each class’ growth and achievement while also analyzing the impact of our teams of teachers over time. Finally, program specific assessments and authentic classroom formative assessments provide ongoing information that helps us evaluate our instruction and meet the needs of the students.

Who should I talk to if I have concerns or questions about my child?

The first step should be to talk to the teacher. Every Olmsted Falls City Schools teacher is highly qualified and will know your student’s strengths and areas for growth.  Please involve the school counselor or the building principal to continue these conversations. Each school has effective intervention teams that are designed to support student learning and intervention. All parents are welcome to contact district administration to further the discussion and to support student learning. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact Dr. Shannon Goss at sgoss@ofcs.net.

Where can I learn more about the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading | Ohio Department of Education and Workforce

Read-Ohio-The Science of Reading

The National Center on Improving Literacy


What is Dyslexia?

Ohio law defines dyslexia as a specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities. Difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language. 

What must a district do if a student is identified as at-risk for dyslexia according to a Tier I screening measure?

If a student is identified as at-risk for dyslexia based on the student’s tier-one screening measure results, districts are required to do the following:

  • Notify the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian that the student has been identified as being at risk for dyslexia;

  • Monitor the progress of each at-risk student toward attaining grade-level reading and writing skills for up to six weeks.

  • If no progress is observed during the monitoring period, the district or school shall notify the parent, guardian or custodian of the student and administer a Tier II dyslexia screening measure to the student.

  • Report to the student’s parent, guardian, or custodian the Tier II screening measure results within 30 days after the screening measure’s administration.

  • TIER TWO SCREENING:  Students identified as “at-risk” who are not showing significant progress toward attaining grade-level reading and writing skills by the sixth week after the student is identified as at risk will be administered a tier-two screener. 

  • At-Risk Students: Screen each at-risk student who does not show significant progress toward attaining grade-level reading and writing skills by the sixth week after the student is identified as at risk.

  • At-Risk Transfer Students: In the case of a transfer student identified as at risk of dyslexia, a tier two dyslexia screening must be administered “in a timely manner.”

Will an individualized education program (IEP) need to be written if a child is identified as “at-risk” by the dyslexia screener?

No. The determination of “at-risk” by a dyslexia screener is not a diagnosis. If a parent or guardian thinks his or her child may have a disability affecting the child’s education, a request can be made to the district to evaluate the child to determine whether he or she would be eligible for special education.

Will dyslexia become one of the disability categories for special education?

No. Dyslexia will not be added as a disability category for special education.

Does this law replace the Third Grade Reading Guarantee requirements for screening and providing Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plans?

No, it does not replace the Third Grade Reading Guarantee requirements. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee requires K-5 Reading Diagnostic Assessment and Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plans (RIMP) for students who score “not on track."

What must a district do if a student is identified as having dyslexia tendencies under a tier two screening measure?  

Districts will be required to report the results to a student's parent or guardian on a tier two screening measure approved by the Ohio Dyslexia Committee within 30 days after the measure's administration.