Wellton Elementary improves through reading program

WELLTON — Reading improvement for Wellton Elementary School students has shown a difference of night and day insist educators, thanks to a federal program.

Reading First is an intensive literacy program designed to increase reading comprehension as part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is funded by the Department of Education. Under this program students in kindergarten through third-grade start each day with a 90-minute block of reading.

School districts must apply for funding which is disbursed according to assessments that show that district is likely to advance student progress, said Jane Peters, Wellton Elementary's Reading First coach.

"We didn't get in on Cycle One but we were accepted for Cycle Two, and we are now in our fourth year. But what got us so excited was 100 percent of our kindergartners reached benchmark level."

Also, 100 percent of second-grade and 72 percent of third-grade students reached benchmark, Peters added. Students are measured on three levels. Intensive are those reading at below-grade level, strategic is one who is making progress but not quite at grade-level and finally, benchmark where students are at grade-level.

"We're trying to avoid reading problems down the line and get them all on the right track. Our first-grade students ranked No. 2 in the state, with 90 percent moving up a level, out of the 80 schools in the Cycle Two program."

Carol Wilcher, a first-grade reading teacher, says Reading First focuses on five key skills: phonic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency. Once they initiate students with fundamentals they just build from there, she added.

"Despite the socio/economics of the area we live in, Reading First has made a huge difference. These students are way above average. We don't see what we used to see thanks to teacher training."

And for those students still encountering difficulties there is an additional 40-minute block of reading intervention. D'Anne Rinehart, the interventionist, screens all students at the beginning of the year with the DIBLES test. It is a nationwide model to evaluate the previously noted five literacy segments in order to design effective reading practices. For any students found to have weakness they are earmarked for intervention, Rinehart noted.

"Phonics for reading focuses on practicing isolated words they can build into sentences. It's especially good for ELL students and builds academic language, the language they use in class."

Interventions also has teachers identify and work with small groups with specific learning needs. Within each grade they have up to seven different groups they tailor course work to improve skills.

"It's been so successful it's been beyond what we could have imagined that could have been achieved."

Zoey Jameson, 6, a first-grade student said she likes to read much more since she has progressed through Reading First.

"It's fun. I like 'The Little Red Hen' because the hen is my favorite. I like to read a lot and I'm much better now."

Another significant improvement noted by Wellton Elementary was the sixth-grade students who were the first third-grade class inaugurated but only had one year of the program, since it only goes up through third-grade. The sixth-graders are now much more advanced readers because of Reading First, Peters said.

But the program is expected to end next spring unless it is renewed by the Obama Administration. Every state in the country had access to NCLB funds but because the way Arizona chose to allocate the funds throughout the state it is No. 3 in the country in success in achieving goals, she said.

"We're hoping Reading First will be renewed beyond next spring. It's definitely a philosophical change from the way we were taught to teach reading at college. So we're very pleased with our success."

William Roller can be reached at wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.