Incorporating Community Volunteers for

Effective Reading Intervention

• B I G I D E A S A N D C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E S

• C A L L T O A C T I O N & W I L D C A T L E A R N I N G L A B 2 0 1 3

• P R E L I M I N A R Y I M P A C T

• F O R M I N G A M O D E L F O R I N C R E A S E D I M P A C T A N D U S E O F R E S O U R C E S

Agenda

L I T E R A C Y I N O U R C O M M U N I T Y

B I G I D E A S F O R I N T E R V E N T I O N

C O M M U N I T Y R E S O U R C E S

F O C U S O N R E A D I N G

Big Ideas and Community Resources

Literacy Crisis in our Community

2009-2010 school year, 38.3% of students attending schools in Kent County are not at the proficient reading level (Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Service)

20% of children with a learning disability entering our schools will face a significant challenge in learning to read (NIH)

If these children do not receive appropriate intervention by third grade (age nine), 74% of them will never catch up (NIH)

Harrison Park School GRPS District

Students Proficient in Reading at the end of 3rd Grade: 59.6%

Student Academic Growth 3-8: 12.7%

Students Proficient in Math and Reading 3-8: 16.6%

Students Proficient in Reading at the end of 3rd Grade: 53.2%

Student Academic Growth 3-8: 12.6%

Students Proficient in Math and Reading 3-8: 18.2%

2012-2013 MEAP Data

Effective Intervention Framework

Specialized Instruction

Strategic Instruction

General Instruction

Common Models for Supplementary Reading Programs

Afterschool Programs with Activities Activities may or may not be reading specific

Methodologies vary

Mentoring/Positive Interactions and Role Models Activities may or may not be reading specific

Methodologies vary

Homework Assistance Activities may or may not be reading specific

Methodologies vary

Comprehension and Fluency Practice Activities may or may not be reading specific

Methodologies vary

Common Struggles

Scheduling of Volunteers

Resources needed by the school

Management/Coordination of physical and human resources

Student transfer of skills (e.g. relating to multiple settings)

Specialized training for working with students who struggle with learning

Need instruction rather than exposure only

Training in reading development and curriculum connection

Effective Reading Instruction

Reading

Phonological Awareness

Decoding

Fluency

Vocabulary

Comprehension

Call to Action for Summer 2013

H A R R I S O N P A R K S C H O O L I M P R O V E M E N T T E A M I D E N T I F I E D A G A P / N E E D :

U N D E R A C H I E V E M E N T O F 2 N D G R A D E S T U D E N T S O N S P R I N G M A P S I N R E A D I N G A S C O M P A R E D T O

P A T T E R N S O F G R A D E S 3 - 5

What can we do? Develop a community supported summer option

focused on 2nd grade readers

KSSN Network

Review of Student/Community Need and Request for Support – very limited

funding!

Secure Volunteers Secure Specialized

Resources

KSSN Community School Leadership

Team Design Program Rationale, Format and

Description

Final Touches

March/April 2013 March/April 2013 April 2013

April/May 2013 May 2013

Wildcat Learning Lab

Supplement school

curriculum

Targeted reading

instruction

2nd grade students

Brief Site Resource Analysis

GRPS

Summer School

Already Available &

Already Funded

Not targeted to specific grades

Harrison Park School

Facility and Staff in use for GRPS

Summer School

Facility and Staff in use for GRPS

Summer School & Large need for 2nd

grade reading push

KSSN

Site Coordinator

Not Teaching Staff & No “Extra”

Funding

Key Challenges

Funding

Trained Teachers/Tutors to provide instruction and effective intervention

Student supervision

Lack of resources for training for intervention

Personnel for supervision/coordination of adults

Gerontology Network SLD Center

Had a relationship with school and district

Need/Gap: volunteers needed specialized training & direction from educators for intervention (including materials)

Had a relationship with school and district

Need/Gap: minimal number of volunteers available & requirements for implementation of 1:1 intervention with fidelity

In the Meantime…..

The Stars Aligned

GN and SLD were in conversations about developing collaboration options

SLD and GRPS were in conversations regarding expanding various collaborations for 2013-2014 school year

GRPS and GN were in conversation for maintaining collaborations for the 2013-2014 school year

The GR Community Foundation was in conversation with all three groups.

Wildcat Learning Lab

Supplement school

curriculum

Targeted reading

instruction

2nd grade students

Community Vision

Responsibilities

Training

Pre and Post Assessment

Materials

Supervision of Fidelity of 1:1

Volunteer Tutors

Homeroom Supervision

Initiative

Coordination

Facility

Students

DIBELS Spring and Fall

Homeroom Activities

Funding

Organizational structures provided much cost savings

SLD Center – no new program or materials required to be developed

Gerontology Network – no new program or funding required to provide volunteers for training and/or summer

GRPS – Harrison Park already in use for Summer School

Funding needed for Training, Training Materials and Internship Implementation

Program Description

Gerontology Network Senior volunteers trained in Phonics Fundamentals© will provide instruction & intervention One hour 1:1 Language

Links intervention (focused on phonological awareness and reading foundational skills)

One hour Homeroom focused on reading fluency and comprehension skills

Language Links

Homeroom

Wildcat Learning

Lab

Specialized Intervention

Strategic Instruction

Program Goal

Increase the success rate of this cohort of students and increase their success as 6th grade Challenge Scholars by providing rigorous summer learning supports focused in all areas of reading

Start Up: Specialized Intervention

Intervention: Training of Specialized Tutors

• June 4-June 13, 2013 Phonics Fundamentals: 32 hour training through SLD Center including curriculum materials & multisensory tools

• 21 volunteers from GN trained to work with HP students at Wildcat Learning Lab

Intervention

• Baseline Assessment completed for each student by SLDC Assessment Specialists

• GN Volunteers work directly with 2nd grade students during Wildcat Learning Lab

• 21 students receive 1:1 reading instruction for 1 hour per day when in attendance at Wildcat Learning Lab

• Post Assessment completed for each student by SLDC Assessment Specialists

Intervention: Fidelity of Implementation

• GN Volunteers work 1:1 with an SLDC Master Tutor for first 20 hours with a student (internship phase)

• SLDC Observers provide direct feedback on curriculum use and methodology for interns as well continuing SLDC tutors

Funding Breakdown $11,300

• Phonics Fundamentals: 32 hour training through SLD Center including curriculum materials & multisensory tools

$3,300

• Baseline Assessment completed for each student by SLDC Assessment Specialists

• GN Volunteers work directly with 2nd grade students during Wildcat Learning Lab

• 21 students receive 1:1 reading instruction for 1 hour per day when in attendance at Wildcat Learning Lab

• Post Assessment completed for each student by SLDC Assessment Specialists

• Coordination of student/tutor schedules and materials

$4,400

• GN Volunteers work 1:1 with an SLDC Master Tutor for first 20 hours with a student (internship phase)

• SLDC Observers provide direct feedback on curriculum use and methodology for interns as well continuing SLDC tutors

Our “AHA!” of Sustainability

$3,300

• Baseline Assessment completed for each student by SLDC Assessment Specialists

• GN Volunteers work directly with 2nd grade students during Wildcat Learning Lab

• 21 students receive 1:1 reading instruction for 1 hour per day when in attendance at Wildcat Learning Lab

• Post Assessment completed for each student by SLDC Assessment Specialists

• Coordination of student/tutor schedules and materials

• Bulk of cost for volunteers trained for specialized intervention was training and internship

• To maintain Language Links with same volunteers approximately $3,300 during academic year per site

Additional Goal

“large scale social change comes from better cross-sector coordination rather than from the isolated intervention of individual organizations” (Kania & Kramer, 2011)

Establish a framework for collaboration for collective impact rather than isolated impact

a.k.a. maximize the value of the expertise and development established during the summer program

Language Links Experience Corps

K-3rd grade students 8 hours – 35 hours per

week 12 GRPS schools 470 students Training for mentoring

and reading support Use school materials

with teacher guidance Ongoing trainings

1st-3rd grade students 2-4 hours per week 4 GRPS schools 18 students Specialized training for 1:1

multisensory instruction Use PF© and multisensory

materials (aligned with common core) and supplements classroom instruction

Ongoing specialized trainings

Organizational Impact 2012-2013

Potential Collective

Impact 2013-2014

Impact through ONLY those

volunteers trained during summer

2013

194 students Summer Impact: minimum of 18 students through

Wildcat Learning Lab and LOOP Academic Year Impact: 176 students

13,090 Hours of Intervention Summer Hours of Intervention: 230 Academic Year Hours of Intervention: 10,560

6 GRPS Buildings Building Breakdown of Impact by Percentage

Summer Harrison Park, 100% Academic Year 2013-2014 Harrison Park, 59% Campus, 14% Palmer, 9% Mulick Park, 5% Buchanan, 9% Brookside, 9%

“…FINDINGS SUPPORT A STRONG FOCUS IN TITLE I SCHOOLS ON

IMPROVING CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AND THEN PROVIDING

ONE-TO-ONE, PHONETIC TUTORING TO STUDENTS WHO CONTINUE TO

EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES” (SLAVIN, 2011)

Impact Measurement

Program Goal Data

Increase the success rate of this cohort of students and increase their success as 6th grade Challenge Scholars by providing rigorous summer learning supports focused in all areas of reading

Based on pre/post data Average number of LL

hours: 15.6

Measurement: Phonics Fundamentals© Inventory

Average 4% increase in reading skills

Do not yet have MAPS for students

Program Assessment

Experience Corps

Use school based academic and attendance data for individual students

MAPS, DIBELS and MEAP

Students selected by school admin and teachers

Teacher Feedback

More than 80% of teachers report that students who work with AARP Experience Corps members made significant academic progress

2012-2013 were NOT in Harrison Park School

Language Links

Wildcat Learning Lab 2013

Spring 2013, Harrison Park with 1st grade students (not yet pub.) 2 groups of 4 students Average number of LL hours: 25 Measurement: Phonics

Fundamentals© Inventory LL students: average 9% increase

in reading skills Non LL students: average 5%

increase in reading skills

Consistent with 20 years of LL data in GRPS, KPS and Portage Public Schools

Based on pre/post data Average number of LL

hours: 15.6

Measurement: Phonics Fundamentals© Inventory

Average 4% increase in reading skills

Do not yet have student MAPS data

LL and Harrison Park

“THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE ACTION COMES NOT FROM THE SHEER NUMBER OF

PARTICIPANTS OR THE UNIFORMITY OF THEIR EFFORTS, BUT FROM THE

COORDINATION OF THEIR DIFFERENTIATED ACTIVITIES THROUGH A

MUTUALLY REINFORCING PLAN OF ACTION” (KANIA & KRAMER, 2011)

Forming a Model for Increased Impact of Volunteer Programs

Collaboration

Specialized Instruction

Strategic Instruction

General Instruction

Leveled Volunteer Training

Phonics Fundamentals©

Multisensory Reading: Rules and

Tools

Reading Development and

Language Processing

Specialized training for working with students who struggle with learning General Instruction

Foundation

Instructional Techniques and Foundations for Curriculum Scope & Sequence

Specialized Training for Intensive Intervention Planning

Leveled Programs for Volunteers

Varied opportunities to maximize expertise of volunteers Volunteers with specialized

trainings in all GN programs as appropriate

Expand options for volunteers of both organizations

Maximize support for student transfer of skills Experience Corps volunteers

see in settings outside of Language Links and can use multisensory supports in areas other than Reading

Experience Corps Language

Links

Experience Corps

Foster Grandparents

Sustainability

Experience Corps and Language Links already supported programs within 4-6 school buildings

Maintain efforts for securing community funds of support

Increase ability to report collective impact to shared donors

Phonics Fundamentals© trainings already offered twice a year

Additional funding will be needed for additional trainings and internships

Sustainable through collaboration!

S P E E D B U M P S

C E L E B R A T I O N S

O U T L I E R S

Last Thoughts

Speed Bumps

Recruitment of Students Targeted for 18-21 students Principal brought in students

from Summer School which varied ages more than planned

Had 6-8 with 5 completing the entire Lab

Attendance of Students None of the students were

present for all 40 hours of available instruction

Maximum Language Links instruction was 18 hours

Moving students into program after start date impacted motivation

Format of Lab Varied from Usual for All Organizations KSSN Site Coordinator

Moved LL Coordinator not available

in summer Shortage of Master Tutors to

mentor for internships Volunteers used to 1:1

settings rather than working in proximity

EC Volunteers receive daily communication (and materials) from classroom teacher/school

Celebrations

Student numbers allowed for increased observation opportunities for interns

Increased opportunities for volunteers

Sep 2013: One student was from

another GRPS Elementary School. She will be repeating 1st grade this year.

Direct feedback: this student noticeably increased her MAPS Reading score to 49%ile and has “finally” moved to the yellow level on DIBELS (from Intense to Strategic)

Outliers

Materials Management

PF materials are copyrighted and in use only for Language Links or SLD Tutoring Sessions

Building Coordination for School Year

Consistent communications with district

Collaboration outside of GRPS

Student numbers allowed for increased observation opportunities for interns

Collective definition of data measurements

Full data analysis

Coordination of data sharing and compilation of report out

Research Support Hernandez, Donald J. (2012) Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Gradution. The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Kania, John & Mark Kramer (2011) Collective Impact, Stanford Social Innovation Review.

National Center for Reading Disabilities. (2011). Parent’s Guide to RtI.

National Reading Panel. Teaching Children to Read. Summary Report (April 13, 2000)

Slavin, Robert. (2011) Effective Reading Programs for Title I Schools. John Hopkins University.

Wolf, M. (2007) Proust and the Squid: the story and sequence of the reading brain. Harper Collins Publishers.