Clover Park School District announcement.
The first graders in Amanda Daly’s class sound out the word “cat-er-pil-lar” on the white board before turning to a partner to talk about what it means. They move on to the next words “but-ter-fly” and “pu-pa.”
Students are doing more than just looking at a word and learning its definition, they’re learning how the different sounds come together to form the whole. It’s a perfect example of CPSD’s focus on understanding the science of the brain to help students learn to read.
Last year, the district began using a new professional learning course called Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) to help teachers develop skills and knowledge to teach reading and spelling more effectively to students. LETRS is based on the latest research and best practices in reading instruction and on the cutting edge of literacy education. It was developed by educators and literacy experts and consists of a series of workshops that provide teachers with a comprehensive understanding of the science of reading and how it can help students increase their vocabulary, comprehension, writing skills and more.
CPSD is one of just three districts in the state to select LETRS as its primary literacy training course.
“Recent research has shown that when we read, we look at every letter in every word to guide us, which goes against what was previously believed,” said CPSD Supervisor of English Language Arts Charity Horton. “LETRS has moved instruction toward a more direct emphasis on phonemic awareness and how sounds help students better understand the foundation of how words come together.”
The district currently has 63 teachers engaged in the LETRS training program, which includes more than 50 hours of training in total for each participant. Early results have proved promising and likely contributed in part to an increase of third graders reading at grade level from 2020-21 of 41% to 66% last year.
While LETRS is redefining how CPSD teaches reading, it’s not the only way we’re focusing on improving reading rates among our elementary learners.
Reaching for the Stars
Helping students grow begins with understanding where they are starting from at any given point. Yearly standardized tests, such as the Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA), provide some of that information but it comes late in the school year and presents only a snapshot of a student’s learning levels at the time they took the test.
Being able to truly understand a student’s progress requires more frequent monitoring of their skills and tracking of their growth than the SBA can provide. CPSD utilizes the Star Assessment suite to evaluate student learning on a more regular basis.
The Star Assessment is quick and easy to administer, allowing students to complete the test in about 30 minutes. The resulting data gives teachers up-to[1]date information about how a student understands classroom lessons and a path to help them improve from their current level.
The classroom learning app Freckle works directly with Star Assessment data to automatically provide lessons to students that build on what they already know. Teachers can also use Star Assessment results to group students at similar learning levels together and assign tasks that help them learn and grow more effectively.
“The Star Assessment gives us a real-time look at how students are learning,” said CPSD Director of Assessment Brian Gabele. “A deeper understanding of where students are at any given moment gives us the ability to prepare students to succeed.”
Teachers and schools aren’t the only ones who can monitor the data. Parents and guardians can access the full Star Assessment report for their individual student. This provides families the opportunity to see what the classroom teacher sees and use that knowledge to help their student or talk to the teacher about their students’ needs.
Families interested in accessing the Star Assessment data report should talk to their student’s classroom teacher.
Regular updates on student progress through the Star Assessment and a commitment to cutting-edge training, such as LETRS, ensure teachers have the tools to help students learn how to read and write at appropriate levels once they start in our schools.
That kind of real-time monitoring and access to status by parents is what I have been paying for in my kid’s private school education for years.
This is what it takes to keep a lot of (most?) kids on track.
We tried home school one year, and it was unsuccessful because parent, coach, and teacher were too many hats for one head.
If the public school system would have the same accountability mechanisms focused on academic standards as the private school systems I am paying for, on top of the public school system I am paying for, my kid would be in public school, and I would have a lot more money to do other things with.
Of course the success of this system requires the direct and continuous participation of the parents to monitor their child’s progress, and take action accordingly.
There seems to be factions within the public school system that are more concerned with fractious social engineering than a unified academic standard with modern technology that is readily at hand.
Change that and you will see improvement in your child’s trajectory.