Dixson students love to read

What has Dixson students so excited? Reading.

Principal Deborah Earle has noticed that the kindergarten and first-grade students at her school are “definitely excited and engaged” when it comes to reading, which is just one way for students to reach their reading goals.

“The goal is for all first graders to leave Dixson able to read,” Ms. Earle said.

Developing strong literacy skills is a priority for all students. Research on the Science of Reading, states that phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds) and phonics (the relationship between sounds and letters) are most effective when they are tightly integrated rather than taught as entirely separate entities. The District has adopted Fundations (Phonics) that focuses on the alphabetic principle. Studies show that Fundations is highly effective at improving decoding, spelling, and fluency. Teachers also teach with Heggerty (Phonemic Awareness) to focus on the auditory and oral side of reading. The District also uses ARCCore, which is a comprehensive, K–12 literacy curriculum that integrates English Language Arts (ELA) instruction with science and socialstudies content.

New research from Johns Hopkins University CRRE shows that prioritizing 1st-grade reading intervention yields lasting results. All students, the principal explained, are given Tier 1instruction. For those who may struggle, they receive Tier 2 or Tier 3 support and may also work one-on-one with a reading specialist or in small-group instruction. The school uses the DIBELS system, or Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, an assessment tool

that helps teachers monitor early literacy development.

“This helps us see where kids arewith their letter names, sounds,

decoding, and reading,” Ms. Earle explained. “The assessment informs the instruction.”

“The programs we are using are data-based, and they are

phenomenal,” she said, adding that Fundations is also used in the district’s UPK program, which provides consistent instruction and assessment when students arrive at Dixson for kindergarten.

For families wondering how they can support their students, the principal assures them that it’s simple.

“Read, read, read,” she suggested.

“The more you read to your kids and with your kids, the more their

vocabulary expands. As long as they are reading and being exposed

to language, they learn so much.

”Ultimately, how well a student develops literacy skills may depend

on their level of maturity; however, encouraging and celebrating

reading goes a long way. Students are also supported when parents allow them to discover what kinds of stories and genres, they enjoy most and indulge those preferences.

Graphic novels, Ms. Earle said, are great, too—they include words,

sentence structures, and rich vocabulary, just like more traditional

books.

Learning basic literacy skills at this age, the principal said, provides a solid foundation that students will use throughout their academic,

personal, and professional lives.

“They first understand the process of reading and build from that,” she said.

“Early literacy is the key.”

“I am so proud of them,” Ms. Earle said of the Dixson students. “And so proud of the teachers.”