THE POWER OF SJB TEACHERS AND A NEW READING CURRICULUM

When it is working, shout about it. Better yet, READ about it! Under the leadership of Principal Trey Woodham, big things are happening at St. John Berchmans School with reading, and we could not be more excited. In August 2022, SJBS adopted a new reading curriculum in grades K4 through fifth. In addition, a resource teacher was hired to assist with students who were not where they needed to be in terms of reading skills and who might need a little extra attention meeting their future reading goals. Our curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA), is based on what has become known as “The Science of Reading.” It is based on years of research about how children learn to read. Our teachers are effectively implementing CKLA with enthusiasm and fidelity to the program’s process and procedures and are seeing reading skills improve and grow at a rate not seen in many years at our school.

In addition to an excellent curriculum, we benchmark the reading skills of students in grades kindergarten through third three times a year using Acadience (formerly DIBELS)beginning the first week of school. Students who do not meet a benchmark begin receiving extra support - that is beautiful. Subsequent benchmarking, coupled with progress monitoring, helps us to ensure that students are continuing to progress as needed. If not, adjustments are made in the classroom or resource room.

There is nothing more powerful than early intervention. The earlier we identify a student who is struggling to meet a benchmark, the easier it is to re-mediate that benchmark skill. For example, in August of 2021, only 33% of our kindergarten students benchmarked in the skill known as First Sound Fluency. By December, 80% of them reached or exceeded the benchmark in this skill.

Once First Sound Fluency is established, students are ready to segment all the sounds in a word. This skill is known as phoneme segmentation. In December of 2022, this skill was benchmarked in kindergarten, 93% of our kindergartners benchmarked, with the majority of them exceeding the benchmark.

These statistics underscore the power of a strong curriculum delivered by skilled, enthusiastic, and passionate teachers coupled with extra resource help when needed. Early intervention is key!

By setting high reading standards and providing extra support for those who need it, our students are being setup for years of future reading success. After all, our ultimate goal is to develop lifelong readers and learners.

Please feel free to reach out to our reading resource teacher if you would like to discuss in detail the exciting things happening with St. John Berchmans’ literacy program in the classroom and the support provided in our reading resource room.