Literacy Success
Our district has been focusing on early literacy skills in kindergarten and first grade. Our Reading Specialists have worked hard at creating a hierarchy of literacy skills. While we have always “tested” kids, we have not always taken the time to take a birds eye view of the class. It is very easy to get stuck on the one or two students who just aren’t making the gains that we would like them to. Today we took the time to reflect on how far our youngest learners have come by looking at classroom data.
There has been some incredible growth. It is hard to believe how much our students have learned in the past 5-6 months. By looking at the data building by building and class by class, we can note trends and encourage discussions amongst teachers.
As we take what we have noticed in our team out to the classroom teachers, I hope to lead conversations that may start with “A strength across the district is….” “How are you getting your students to…..” “Can I come watch you teach …..” It is so exciting to hear teachers share ideas and learn from each other.
Romeo Lit Coach 
I am involved with coaching at the other end of the schooling spectrum. Our adolescents don’t make the kinds of exciting gains early primary students do, but it’s still great to see the growth they do experience as readers. It’s nice to focus on the positive sometimes!
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this is the side of data i like. i came from the school of – “i’m going to do my best regardless so i don’t let myself get bogged down by numbers” and still cling to some parts of that ethos but this is a really great way to look at numbers. good share, thank you!
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts about coaching! I’ve always wished we could have some MORE time to learn with and from each other. So often, I feel like we just talk data, share ideas and move on. I appreciate your telling us about your hopes with the program too. It helps those of us reading your post “look ahead” also. Good luck with the rest of your slicing this month!
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As much as I complained about establishing a Student Growth Objective as the new year began, there was something distinctly satisfying in have more than an amorphous sense of student growth by looking at quantifiable data. Congratulations on your (and your district’s) success. It’s wonderful that it can also guide you to be more effective.
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