Reading aid helps defeat low Fairview literacy rate

Barbara Richards, a Title I reading specialist, sets the standards high for her students at Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington, Ind.

The task she is about to present to her second-graders will cause much anxiety as well as many inquiries and excuses.

For the first time, every student from both her higher and lower-functioning literacy groups will be writing a small summary. Her second-graders recently completed the 16-page book “Harry Helps Out” and collectively discussed the book’s synopsis, however, it is the first time they are doing this pencil to paper, Richards says.

The students are given a five-point summary worksheet. They must identify the main character, the goal, the problem, the solution and the resolution.

Five second-graders swarm around Richards’ table to begin their brief session.

Richards gives out the instructions for the five-point summary assignment.

Gavin can’t sit still. He stirs in his seat.

“Gavin,” Richards says staring directly at him, “you really need to focus.”

There is something different about Gavin today. He lost one of his top teeth and all of his peers notice. Everyone congratulates him.

“Your straggle tooth is gone,” Richards says.

All of the attention Gavin receives for his missing tooth makes his smile grow wider while his interest in educational activities wane.

“I hope you’re listening,” Richards says to Gavin, “and not just tipping in your chair.”

Gavin begins working on his summary sheet, but says he can’t fill in the first box, which is about the main character.

“What does this say?” Gavin asks.

“Were you listening?” Richards replies.

“It’s hard for me to remember,” Gavin says.

But Richards does not accept any form of excuses. She is aware that Gavin has special learning needs, but that does not exempt him from the task at hand.

“I have high expectations of my students,” Richards says. “I have expectations that they are all excellent. And I have expectations that they will all go to college. And I have expectations that they are all gifted."

* * *
Richards, however, knows her students do not lead easy lives. Fairview receives Title I funds due to their high rates of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Ninety-two percent of Fairview students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program and more than 85 percent of those students receive free lunches.

Below proficient results on standardized tests– such as the ISTEP+ scores – generally correlate with higher levels of poverty, and this trend plays out in the Monroe County Community School Corporation where Fairview scores lag behind their counterparts from higher-income schools, Fairview literacy coach Lee Heffernan says.

However, Fairview is not the only school within the school district struggling with their literacy rates. In fact, there are six Title I schools, including Fairview, within the district: Arlington Elementary School, Grandview Elementary School, Templeton Elementary School, Highland Park Elementary School and Summit Elementary School. However, there are students at non-Title I schools who are struggling with literacy as well.

Currently, one-third of the school district’s students do not read at grade-level, says Cameron Rains, director of elementary education curriculum and instruction for the school corporation.

Members of the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools are currently campaigning to raise $3 million for literacy programs, school libraries, classroom resources and efforts to keep kids engaged with and enrolled in school.

From the funds that have been received thus far, the school district plans to begin the first Literacy Leaders Cohort, a group of 44 educators participating in the same training over an extended period of time starting in November, Rains says.

For the first cohort three educators from each elementary school will meet monthly to learn about balanced literacy, how to aid students’ reading pace and how to monitor students’ progress. The goal of the cohort is to analyze the school district’s current literacy practices, compare them to the best practice in literacy instruction and make changes if the two are out of alignment, Rains says.

It will also give teachers a chance to share student work and to collaborate on teaching strategies.

The school district’s administrators, however, hope to increase their literacy rates by 5 percent per year for the next four years.

“We need to guarantee this to all of our kids,” Rains says. “It is a zero failure mission. Reading is the most important foundational skill in school and in life. We cannot fail at this.”

Fairview, however, faces the largest battle with literacy due to their high poverty rates.
Richards, however, does not accept poverty as an excuse. Poverty is not something that Fairview can’t overcome.

“I don’t see poverty as a challenge.” Richards says. “I see it as a real bonus because they are so grateful for anything.”

Most children at Fairview come from homes with barely any books. Many students come to Fairview without ever having been read to and have never been exposed to such rich language.

“They are like a fresh, beautiful snowfall and you can make your footprints anywhere,” Richards says of her students. “They are not jaded and they take nothing for granted.”

After working at Templeton for 12 years, Richards transferred just this school year to work at Fairview.

And at Fairview, writing a summary is a completely foreign concept to Richards’ second-grade students.

However, Richards is sure that her students can fulfill the state’s second-grade standards. Her students will meet the school corporation’s “power standards” this quarter. In fact, Richards is certain of it.

***
Gavin can’t help but be distracted.

He was absent yesterday because, he says, he had a fever. Now, he is behind.

But Gavin isn’t too worried about this activity.

Fairview recently opened their new playground and since Gavin missed school yesterday he didn’t get to discover this new territory with the rest of his classmates.

However, today he had the chance to participate in the fun. Him and his classmates share their experiences.

But Richards remains unaffected by the chaos that is going on around her – the chatting, the pencil tapping, the questions and the trips to and from the trash can.

She focuses on the material and is determined to use every second of her 22-minute sessions. Richards puts a lot of pressure on herself. She tells herself that she needs to keep her students motivated in school and interested in the curriculum material no matter the circumstance.

“I have only 22 minutes to make a difference in their lives,” Richards says.

Richards wants Gavin’s attention. Although it is frustrating that Gavin has so much on his mind – the new playground, his missing tooth and yesterday’s absence – Richards tries to dismiss the discord. Her main motive: to keep her “eye on the prize.”

What’s her prize?

“The ‘ah ha’ moments and those ‘I can do it’ clicks,” Richards says. “It’s their progress and the fact that I know I made a difference.”

***

Even though all of her second-graders are struggling with spelling and writing no one is as frustrated as Logan.

Logan has a painstaking look on his face. His eyebrows are furrowed together. He taps his pencil to his head. He puts both his hands to his head. But no matter what he does, the words aren’t being written onto the page. 

Richards has a “help me, help you” approach when it comes to meeting the needs of her students. She knows that in order to uncover what is bothering Logan she must listen to him. Richards wants her students to know she truly cares about them.

“There are two kinds of teachers: those who teach to chairs and those who teach to children,” Richards says. “I’ve never been interested in teaching chairs. I like for my teaching to go two ways.”

Richards wonders what is at the source of his pain and frustration. Is he unable to concentrate with the noise in the room? Is it the mechanics and the spelling?

He answers, “no” to both these questions. Then what is it? Logan says he just can’t remember.

This is unusual for Logan. Typically, he can articulate his feelings. But not today.
As Logan shuts down, Richards is afraid that he will burst into tears, but instead he mumbles, “This is too hard.”

Richards assists Logan with the summary resolution. “What does the story end with?” Richards asks.

“Computer,” Logan mumbles.

Logan then fills in the blank with “help with the computer.” Although Logan has an entire line to write the words on he chooses to place “the computer” in the margins of the right page.

The print on his worksheet is extremely large. Richards suspects that he purposely tried to fill the page since he was having such a difficult time with the assignment.
Logan turns his worksheet in.

“You did it!” Richards exclaims. “High-five!”

Logan makes a half-hearted attempt at this high-five, but Richards accepts it. 

He then briefly buries his face into the table. He has been defeated.

Soon, this moment will likely become a distant memory for Logan.

But it won’t be for Richards.

Richards recognizes that an instance like Logan’s happens with all children, but she does not want this to become a pattern for him or for any other of her students.

“What was making him not exceptional today?” Richards would later ask herself.
“It’s like a mystery or puzzle,” she says. “I just got to figure out what is bothering them.”

* * *

After this strenuous activity, the second-graders have a chance to participate in some fun. Little do they know, Richards says, that the game they are playing is educational.

Chunk Stacker is the name of the game that every one of Richards’ students enjoys.

The kids are to fill their trays with as many words as they can create from the blue and pink tiles – the onsets and the rimes.

“Get your special eyes on and put them on now,” Richards instructs while placing two circles – made from her index finger and thumb – over both of her eyes. All of the children imitate what she does and giggle.

It’s Gavin’s turn. His first instinct is to turn over more of the tiles. But there are many possible word creations with the tiles that are already turned over.

“Gavin use your special eyes,” Richards instructs.

Once he puts his special eyes on he is on a lucky streak. He creates two words: smile and lick.

Gavin is proud of himself. He exclaims, “Yes!” after he makes each of the words.

Richards is happy for Gavin. Typically it takes Gavin longer to understand the material.

But not today – today he is a shining student.

“Something that we learned today must have connected with him and his world,” Richards says.

But Richards does not want her other students to be upset about their standing in Chunk Stacker.

“We aren’t going to brag,” Richards says to Gavin.

Gavin grins. In his mind, he has already won even though the game technically has no winners or losers.

However, Gavin is not the only one who wants the game to continue. All of the students groan when it is time to go to their next class. Richards doesn’t want it to end either. To keep the enthusiasm going she concludes the session by saying, “If you do your personal best today and tomorrow we will start tomorrow with the game.”

After two rounds of Chunk Stacker, Richards has finally completed her quota for the day. The second graders disperse from the classroom into the hallway. Richards gathers her materials and heads to Room 201. Her next task: reading with two fourth-grade girls.