Gibson reports on reading program success
NORWICH – Building a solid foundation of reading, writing and comprehension is a crucial part of a young child’s education.
Stanford Gibson Principal Dara Lewis stood before the board of education last Tuesday and spoke about the progress her school has made throughout the school year. Instituting the 100-book challenge this year, Lewis said, has helped test scores and her students have shown improvement and growth throughout the year.
Currently Gibson students are at their 30-week assessment mark, and most are either on target or beyond their target in reading, Lewis said. K-2 students participated in the 100-book challenge for the first time this school year. Third graders will have the opportunity to participate next year. Lewis says instituting the reading program has helped to build the home/school relationship and has improved test scores across the board.
The target goal for readers is to reach 80 percent of children who can read at their designated level. Levels for reading are based on the child’s ability to read entire words on a page and recognize words to form sentences. For kindergartners the level to reach is 4, in first grade it is 16, second grade is 28 and in third grade the level to reach is 38. Currently 63 percent of kindergartners are already there, 66 percent of first graders have met their goal, 73 percent of second graders are reaching their target level of 80 percent and 77 percent of third graders are reading at level.
Lewis said looking at data from five years ago, approximately 50 percent more students are reading at their targeted level. Five years ago, Lewis said, only 11 percent of the third graders were assessed reading at their level.
Lewis said involving students in the 100 book challenge meant the morning program at Gibson had to be canceled. Bringing parents and the community in to be involved is one aspect Lewis said she didn’t want to lose and the 100 book challenge met the students’ needs. “Now parents are not standing in the back of a room listening; parents are now acting as reading coaches and interacting with the students,” said Lewis.
Mathematics was another area in which Lewis said she saw a need for change and the new benchmarking system was designed to better track students. She said at any given moment she can pull data to compare classes, grades and student assessment. Benchmarking, she said, has become an asset to aid her as well as teachers and parents of the progress each child has made throughout the year.
Lewis said plans for next year include brightening Gibson’s halls a bit, and the project has already begun. Poster-sized snapshots of students will make their way to the walls around the building to give the school a new look.
Stanford Gibson Principal Dara Lewis stood before the board of education last Tuesday and spoke about the progress her school has made throughout the school year. Instituting the 100-book challenge this year, Lewis said, has helped test scores and her students have shown improvement and growth throughout the year.
Currently Gibson students are at their 30-week assessment mark, and most are either on target or beyond their target in reading, Lewis said. K-2 students participated in the 100-book challenge for the first time this school year. Third graders will have the opportunity to participate next year. Lewis says instituting the reading program has helped to build the home/school relationship and has improved test scores across the board.
The target goal for readers is to reach 80 percent of children who can read at their designated level. Levels for reading are based on the child’s ability to read entire words on a page and recognize words to form sentences. For kindergartners the level to reach is 4, in first grade it is 16, second grade is 28 and in third grade the level to reach is 38. Currently 63 percent of kindergartners are already there, 66 percent of first graders have met their goal, 73 percent of second graders are reaching their target level of 80 percent and 77 percent of third graders are reading at level.
Lewis said looking at data from five years ago, approximately 50 percent more students are reading at their targeted level. Five years ago, Lewis said, only 11 percent of the third graders were assessed reading at their level.
Lewis said involving students in the 100 book challenge meant the morning program at Gibson had to be canceled. Bringing parents and the community in to be involved is one aspect Lewis said she didn’t want to lose and the 100 book challenge met the students’ needs. “Now parents are not standing in the back of a room listening; parents are now acting as reading coaches and interacting with the students,” said Lewis.
Mathematics was another area in which Lewis said she saw a need for change and the new benchmarking system was designed to better track students. She said at any given moment she can pull data to compare classes, grades and student assessment. Benchmarking, she said, has become an asset to aid her as well as teachers and parents of the progress each child has made throughout the year.
Lewis said plans for next year include brightening Gibson’s halls a bit, and the project has already begun. Poster-sized snapshots of students will make their way to the walls around the building to give the school a new look.
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