NHPS
A “structured literacy”-focused experiment helped increased elementary reading scores. Now New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) will offer similar programing this summer and possibly next fall.
That was a message imparted during a presentation at Monday night’s biweekly Board of Education (BOE) meeting.
Officials highlighted a drastic increase in K‑1 reading scores at five schools in four months through a partnership with the reading program Footsteps 2 Brilliance.
The Footsteps 2 Brilliance program was piloted this winter and spring from February until May. Program CEO and founder Ilene Rosenthal presented the results of the four-month pilot at the BOE Zoom meeting.
The pilot comes at a time when New Haven is wrestling with declining reading scores overall: A recent report revealed that just 43 percent of New Haven’s kindergarteners, 32 percent of first-graders, 38 percent of second-graders, and 37 percent of third-graders are reading at grade level.
The pilot compared students scores for the DIBELS Oral Reading assessment after the pilot to the start of the year scores. It was piloted at John S. Martinez School, King-Robinson Inter-District Magnet School, Barack H. Obama Magnet University School, Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration (FAME), and Bishop Woods School.
Eighty-three first-grade students’s oral reading fluency skills increased 130 percent on a “DIBELS“assessment and 31 percent for phonemic awareness. Around 50 kindergarteners’ reading levels increased by 94 percent.
Overall students’ skills drastically increased in phonological awareness, phonics, language, reading comprehension, and logic and reasoning.
NHPS is working on a plan for next school year to am up training on teaching reading amidst recent conversations over how to teach reading to elementary students.
School officials skipped a recent community hearing by the Board of Alders Education Committee that arose from a request by the superintendent to hear from similar school districts also shifting their reading models. Whether to focus more on more phonics-centered “structured” versus “balanced” literacy has become a flashpoint in a debate over whether New Haven will comply with a new state mandate emphasizing the former. A school spokesperson saidthe district plans to increase its training of educators next year and establish a plan that is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. (Read more about the alder hearing and district response here.)
The Footsteps 2 Brilliance program is a customizable pre‑K through 3rd grade accelerated digital literacy program that can work with school teachers and parents to increase reading proficiency in English and Spanish. The program’s instruction is based on the science of reading and an explicit phonics curriculum.
Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Leadership/School Improvement Viviana Conner suggested the district pilot the program because “offering access to a program like this did align to our goals and our priorities.“
The pilot program trained all teachers involved in its level 1 training and some went on to be trained in level 2 instruction. It offered personal office hours, two days of on-site visits, and hands-on professional development to assistant the educators.
“When we compare you to other districts, you really soarwhen you look at like districts,” said Chief Operating Officer Eugene Narciso.
The pilot data also reported that a total of 4,670 hours were spent on program during the pilot period and 30,792 books read by the K‑1 students.
Bishop Woods teacher Stephanie Gross-Hernandez spoke to the board about her firsthand experience with the pilot program. In her class she said she used the program in small groups and for independent reading.
She recalled the program’s effect on one of her first grade students who started the year behind on his reading skills. She said reading was frustrating for the student and caused him to lack confidence.
She said the program immediately interested the student and offered him “comfortable” and paced instruction.
“Everyday he would come in and show me all the levels he completed at home,” she recalled.
She added that the program helped him to gain confidence and made him less frustrated about reading which helped him to learn better.
Gross-Hernandez’s written statement of the program states;
“Since starting to use the Footsteps2Brilliance program, a student who was struggling is now thriving in all areas, including having more confidence in himself as a learner and being able to work independently. Footsteps2Brilliance is a reward for finishing their assignments in their other apps, because my students would rather work in the Footsteps2Brilliance program than the others.”
Students using Footsteps 2 Brilliance program in New Haven classrooms.
Bishop Woods Principal Flo Crisci said the program helped to improve the school’s overall DIBLES scores.
She reported that 3 percent of kindergartners in the fall scored proficient. In the spring that increase to 48 percent proficient.
First-graders’ reading scores in September were at 8 percent, then increased to 51 percent.
“Working on the five areas of reading is really helping our students start to close the gap that was lost during the pandemic,” Crisci said.
She added that the enjoyed that the program got parents involved in the students’ learning.
Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Leadership Keisha Hannans announced the district will continue to offer the program at four summer school sites for a district Summer Climb program which will be teacher-guided and offer bilingual units. The Summer Climb will be offered at
Bishop Woods, King Robinson, Barack Obama and John S. Martinez Schools.
The students enrolled in the pilot will also be granted access to the program this summer virtually to continue improving reading skills.
Several board members praised the pilot program and its results.
Vice President Matt Wilcox asked the district to compare the pilot program reading score data to other schools’ scores to “gauge the effectiveness” at a future meeting. He asked that they report if they will use the program district-wide in the future.
School’s spokesperson Justin Harmon said the district is considering expanding the program for the fall.
“There are several things that we’re trying,” Tracey said. “One size does not fit all. We have different groups of learners who will require different methodologies, different programs, different strategies to reach them. We need to arm our teachers with just about everything they need so that they can address the needs of our learners.”
While I certainly hope this computer program is helpful, I’m a bit confused about the graphs. They seem to show approximately the same progress for kids who participated in the program for less than a certain amount of hours than for kids who used the program for more hours. Also, without comparing it to students who did not use the program, the results don’t mean much, how do we know the program is why students increased their scores?
Finally, how does this program differ from Lexia or iReady, which are already used at many schools? Our main concern should be our Tier 1 classroom curriculum and not supplements programs.