6359 School Wide Reading Program

Evaluate a School Wide Reading Program
Culture of Literacy
The STAR testing data accurately supports and illustrates the Culture of Literacy at St.
Philip the Apostle School. As a school we cultivate the culture of literacy in all aspects of school
life. Literacy is beyond test scores, school wide reading achievements, and national scores. The
climate of literacy is the ability to see and experience literacy throughout our school. Across
grade levels our highest urgent intervention level this Fall testing was at 19% with 10 out of 54
students scoring within urgent intervention range and with 32% (18 students out of 56) scoring at
intervention range. Many of our students across grade levels are scoring at or above benchmark.
Our school lives out literacy through its classrooms which are vibrant with literacy. St. Philip
the Apostle has two libraries, PLC: Primary Learning Commons where TK Through 3rd grade
can find books at their grade level and reading levels. We also have a LC: Learning Commons
where 4th through 8th grade can find books at their grade level and reading levels. These
libraries are filled with technology such as chromebooks and ipads for research and two
librarians that guide them through database searches and reading strategies. These spaces provide
students open seating to read and closed rooms to study or join in small group teaching. Many of
the teachers at St. Philip also provide students with classroom libraries where students can bring,
take home, or read in the classroom. Many of the classrooms have a designated area with carpet,
lights, and pillows to read quietly. Primary grades have parent volunteers come in for reading
circles as kids read in small groups. The school also provides students with two resource teachers
and after school reading specialist for struggling readers. Students read among all subject matter
and are given the opportunity to write in a variety of different topics. The Culture of Literacy is
vibrant at St. Philip but the data does reveal grade levels that may need extra support.
What Does The Data Show?
One particular class that shows struggles is the 5th grade classroom. The data does
suggest that the fifth grade classroom needs support. Data from the current 5th grade class shows
years of struggle, from 3rd grade through 5th grade. This particular class has behavioral struggles
as well as students with learning difficulties. The data illustrates this struggle from years prior.
This current 5th grade class has many students with learning disabilities and difficulties and this
can be seen through the data. The data shows that in 3rd grade this same 5th grade class had 23%
of its class in the urgent intervention range, 13 out of 57 students. In the 4th grade this 5th grade
class had 16% of its class in the urgent intervention range, 9 out of 58 students, a slight drop
from 3rd to 4th grade. In 5th grade this class had 18% of its students at the urgent intervention
level, 10 out of 56 students. Although, there is a decline in urgent intervention students from 3rd
to 5th grade it can be said that this particular class is the class that struggles the most at St. Philip
the Apostle School. Many of the students in this 5th grade class have IEP’s and diagnosed
learning disabilities such as, dyslexia. These students need to be receiving the proper
intervention to meet their needs. Many of these students are participating in whole group reading
and writing assignments that may be too difficult for students to read and to write. In order to
meet the needs of these diverse learners we must take the proper steps to help them read at grade
level expectations or to read at their best ability.
Strategies for Intervention
In order to meet the needs of the students of the 5th grade class proper steps must be
taken to help them reach grade level expectations. One step to take would be a more intensive
reading program that focuses on small group instruction. Much of the reading being completed in
the 5th grade class is being done as a whole class. Many of the students with learning difficulties
are struggling to keep up with the rest of the classroom. They might also be having difficulty
understanding the texts they are reading in class, which may also set them behind. Allowing for
literature circles in which they are grouped by reading ability will help students focus on a
particular leveled book and work at their pace. A teacher can use STAR data scores, as well as,
running records to place students in the proper reading groups. Using the data will allow teachers
to plan and create reading groups in which students focus on their reading level scores. Teachers
can give these struggling students books one level above their independent reading level and also
provide assignments that meet their needs in order to help them move to grade level. Monitoring
groups and reassessing can help focus on goals and help a teacher evaluate the progress of these
groups.
Another step I would take would be to assess students who are “on watch”,
“intervention”, and “urgent intervention” with running records or a Jerry John’s Informal
Reading Inventory in order to target difficulties and create measurable goals for students.
Creating measurable goals based on a student's difficulties will help the teacher provide the
students with appropriate content and material and it can also help any extra resource teachers
that maybe helping students. Many of the students work with resource teachers or tutors, the
ability to provide resource teachers or tutors concrete skills students need to focus on can bring
further support to students. Lastly, taking the proper steps to facilitate reading not only at school
but at home is important. Having books that students can easily access that contains the correct
lexile number or letter they can identify will help them choose the correct books to read in class
during independent reading time or at home. Providing parents with their child's lexile scores, as
well as, discussing reading goals with parents can help parents choose the correct books and
facilitate reading at home. Teachers can also provide them with tools that appeal to students such
as “RAZ-KIDS” which is an online reading program. This program allows teachers to assign a
specific amount of minutes a child should be reading at home a week, it also allows teachers to
assign appropriate books for students to read at home and assesses them on comprehension all
through the tool of technology. The best part of having access to these tools in class and at home
is that this program is accessible through a computer, an ipad, or a phone. Students get to apply
technology and use this technology to aid them through reading in order to meet grade level
expectations.

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Evaluate a School Wide Reading Program

level expectations or to read at their best ability.

Strategies for Intervention

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