Special to the Pioneer Times
HOULTON – After all the children had left for the day, the leadership team of the Reading First program at Houlton Elementary School circled around a classroom table last Wednesday to discuss their progress and plans for the future of the literacy program.
Pioneer Times photo/Elizabeth Gartley
READING TOGETHER – From left, kindergarteners Jason Gentle, Nolan Jacobs and Derek Brown read their favorite picture books. Houlton Elementary School’s progress through the Reading First grant has students as young as pre-K learning letter sounds and reading small words and sentences.
Reading First is a three-year $835,000 per-year federal grant, which allows schools to apply scientifically proven instructional and assessment techniques to ensure that all children can read at grade level by the end of third grade. Teachers at Houlton Elementary have employed a diversified approach to literacy with the help of the grant, from professional development, new reading materials, assessment techniques and uninterrupted 90-minute literacy periods, being sure that students are confident readers has become a top priority at the school.
Julie Delong, a pre-K teacher, described her young students sounding out words and small sentences.
“They’re going go to kindergarten next year, and they’re going to do really well,” Delong said, “I can’t wait to hear what the kindergarten teachers have to say. We’re very proud.”
Sally Cole is the school’s new reading interventionist, a position that was funded by the grant.
“We do screening assessments on kids three times a year, and from those assessments, we can identify kids who might be at risk,” Cole explained, “We’ve been able to pinpoint where the weakness is and offer some intervention, to get them back up to benchmark. That system has worked really well.”
Principal Candace Crane stressed the increased access to professional development. The school has had the opportunity to bring in guest speakers, and teachers and staff have attended literacy conferences outside the district. Houlton Elementary teachers have also had opportunities for graduate coursework in literacy, and by the end of the third year of the grant every teacher in the school will have benefited from such coursework.
“The quality and quantity of the professional development has been really beneficial,” Crane said.
Ellen Askren, a kindergarten teacher, explained that teachers have been able to purchase materials for their classrooms and build comprehensive classroom libraries.
Pioneer Times photo/Elizabeth Gartley
READING FOR FUN – From left, third graders Kate Newman, Chloe Davis and Olivia White lounge on beanbags in the Houlton Elementary halls as they read along together during their 90-minute literacy block.
“Teachers have been buying their own books for years, of course that’s what teachers do,” Askren explained, “But this way, we have money to stock our library a certain way.”
Teachers have been able to develop classroom and school libraries that are consistent from classroom to classroom and grade to grade, with similar check-out procedures and ratios of genres and fiction and non-fiction.
All grade levels are using the same reading program to provide continuity from pre-K to third grade. The young readers’ skill set is layered, so that students don’t have “knowledge gaps.” This continuity makes communication between teachers and grade levels much easier.
“The time for professional peers to talk about literacy is really important,” Jan Martin, a second-grade teacher, added, “We have a common theme almost.”
Literacy coaches, paid for with the grant, have come into classrooms to work with students and teachers.
“The research shows that kids have to be reading at grade level by the time they leave grade three, or they’re at risk throughout their school years,” explained Janet Murakami, the second- and third-grade literacy coach, “In those [kindergarten] through three years, it’s absolutely crucial that they’re reading at grade level.”
The leadership team, comprised of one teacher from each grade level, the literacy coaches, the reading interventionist, and Principal Crane, all agreed that teachers and staff have shown great dedication with their hard work, putting in long hours and going well “above and beyond” their typical duties.
“I think this has been an immense amount of work that has been well worth it,” said Sarah Estabrook, the kindergarten and first-grade literacy coach.
Crane explained that if Houlton Elementary can demonstrate good progress at the end of the third year, the school may be eligible for an additional fourth year of funding. Teachers and staff are already looking to the future, and planning for ways to maintain the literacy program after the seed money is gone.
“We really want to recognize all the hard work and celebrate all the positive things that have happened,” Crane explained.
“If you can read this, thank a teacher,” Jan Martin added.
