West
AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WEST NOBLE SCHOOL CORP.
SPRING 2016
Reading program helps WNMS students ACHIEVE! West Noble Middle School students are wrapping up the third year of a popular online nonfiction reading program called ACHIEVE3000. The program differentiates lessons at 12 levels in English and seven in Spanish to ensure that all learners engage at their own individual reading level, accelerating reading gains, boosting mastery of state standards and improving performance on high-stakes tests. Research has shown that the more time kids spend reading, the better readers they become. But how do we create more time for reading in an already busy classroom schedule? ACHIEVE3000 delivers high-interest science and social studies-based news stories at each student’s individual reading level. This ensures that all students are able to work with the same content, and meaningfully engage in class discussions and whole-class activities. ➤ Achieve, Page 2
ACHIEVE3000, a nonfiction reading program, is used at West Noble Middle School to help students increase their reading skills. The program tailors science and social-studies based news stories to a student’s reading level.
West Noble Elementary heads toward success Each day students at West Noble Elementary participate in Success Time. Thirty minutes every day are set aside to remediate or enrich students in either math or reading. Students receive small or large group instruction during this time based on their needs. Students who need remediation, or extra help, meet in a small group that focuses on a standard. Students who meet or exceed the standard meet in a large group for skill/standard reinforcement or enrichment. All Title staff, in addition to classroom teachers, help remediate, reinforce and enrich students during this time. Groups are flexible, and students move in and out of groups based on specific needs. Most groups last three to four weeks and then students are regrouped and a new skill becomes the focus.
West Noble Elementary sees Success Time as a way to meet the varying needs of all our students. The proof is in the data that Success Time is successful. Last year West Noble Elementary had 91 percent of all students pass the IREAD 3 test, which was up from the 2013-2014 school year’s score of 84 percent. Both third- and fourth-grade students scored higher on the 2014-2015 math ISTEP test than the state average. During Success Time, students are actively engaged with hands-on learning activities to help them remediate, reinforce or enrich their skills. During Language Arts Success, students work on improving their vocabulary and fluency in addition to the language arts skill. During Math Success, students work on cementing the math skill and gaining a deeper
understanding of the math concept. Students have very positive things to say when asked what they think about Success Time. Keisha Ostrander, a fourth-grader in Mrs. Grotemat’s class said, “I like the part where we got to do the area and perimeter with the 3 posters on the wall. It’s fun to do multiply and dividing. I like when we get to read different versions of stories, and we get to determine character traits.” Jocelyn Pedroza, a third-grader in Mrs. Yoder’s class said, “I like success because it helps me with things I don’t understand.” Sam West, in Miss Bontrager’s secondgrade class, said, “During Math Success, we can make new friends and learn at the same time.” ➤ Success, Page 2