Conditions for Success
Riverside participated in the Early Literacy Pilot which allowed them to engage in extensive professional learning to support literacy instruction. It also helped to connect Riverside educators to their Regional Early Literacy Specialist who helped support changes in the building's approaches to literacy. Participation in the pilot laid the groundwork for Riverside Elementary's continued improvement in supporting their students to read.
Before changing their approaches to literacy instruction in the classroom, Riverside needed to ensure that they had conditions in place that would make new changes successful. These conditions included:
- Substantial professional learning for all educators in the building
- A strong connection to regional support, in particular State Support Team 6
- A deep understanding of how children learn to read
- A willingness to adopt new approaches, curriculum and resources
- A shift to data-informed decision-making
Educators at Riverside Elementary were successful because they received intensive, sustained and supported training. PreK-6 ELA teachers, para-professionals, intervention specialists, and administrators received training in the science of reading, which provided teachers with strategies for instructing students in word recognition and language comprehension. These areas are foundational pieces necessary to build students’ reading comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986).
The intensive two-year training included a deep dive into how children learn to read, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. At the conclusion of the training, the elementary teachers understood the process of teaching reading and spelling. During the first year, teachers were also trained in a whole-group intervention designed to improve phonemic awareness. In addition to receiving this training, the elementary school adopted an evidence-based core reading program, which aligned with concepts outlined in the science of reading training.
Another key condition for Riverside's success is their use of data. In this video, Ellie Johnson, an Interventionist for grades 4-6, describes how Riverside Elementary school uses data collaboratively in teacher-based team meetings to inform instruction for students.
Erica Heitkamp, Speech and Language Therapist, also noted the importance of data, saying:
“One thing that has changed is we have intervention logs which help keep track of the students and what they are working on…and how they performed on that skill…I think recording the information for each time we intervene, has been beneficial for the children.”
The changes to Riverside's practices and mindset were drastic. Underlying these was a collective willingness to revise their approaches along with a collective belief that they would be effective.
Reflection Questions:
- What conditions might help the implementation of evidence-based literacy practices in your district or school?
- What conditions might hinder implementation of evidence-based literacy practices in your district or school? How might these hindrances be addressed?
Resources to Learn More:
Last Modified: 8/5/2024 6:34:38 AM