Elementary Education

U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency

Save the Children’s Literacy Program

NCFL Conference, April 28, 2013

OUR MISSION is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Our Mission

• 16 States• Partnering with

more than 150 public schools

• Benefiting more than 17,000 children

Existing Afterschool Programs:

Who We Are

US Presence

Selection of Partner Schools

How do we know a school is a good fit?• Located in rural areas• High percentage of children receive free or

reduced lunch• Low school-wide achievement of state or national

literacy standards• Strong commitment and engagement from school

administration and community

Why Focus on Literacy?

Rationale:

• 68 percent of 4th graders in rural America read below grade level.

• A lack of literacy skills is one of the most commonly-cited reasons for dropping out of high school.

• Education and literacy levels profoundly impact workers’ job prospects and earning potential.

• 45 percent of poor rural adults have less than a high school education.

2.6 million rural children live in poverty

Supplemental Services:

• In-School Direct Support

• Afterschool Programming

• Summer Programming

Abbreviated Description of the Literacy Programs

Literacy Programs

Supplemental Literacy Programs Goal

“Accelerate the reading growth of struggling readers to put them on a track for success in school and beyond.”

In-School Literacy Support

Program Offerings:

For developing readers in grades 1 through 6 Guided Independent Reading Practice Fluency Building Support Reading Tutorials

For emergent readers in grades K through 1 Reading Together Activities Emergent Reader Modules

Afterschool Programming

Program Offerings: The Developing Reader Literacy

Block The Emergent Reader Literacy Block Healthy Choices – Physical Activity &

Nutrition

SummerBoost Camp

Program Offerings: The Developing Reader Literacy Block The Emergent Reader Literacy Block Healthy Choices – Physical Activity & Nutrition Mathematics Enrichment Community Service Learning STEM ( Special Activities

U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency | ELEMENTARY EDUCATION10

Common Threads

Each component was designed to be: Based on research Easy to implement Hands-on and fun for children Targeted at specific skills or

strategies that children need to succeed as readers

The Developing Reader Literacy Block

• 20 minutes: Read-aloud and vocabulary activities

• 10 minutes: Fluency building

• 30 minutes: Guided independent reading practice (GIRP)

The Developing Reader Literacy Block consists of:

INCREASEDINCREASEDREADINGREADING

ACHIEVEMENTACHIEVEMENT

VocabularyVocabularyGrowthGrowth

VocabularyVocabularyGrowthGrowth

VocabularyVocabularyGrowthGrowth

FLUENCY:FLUENCY:Repeated reading Repeated reading activities build activities build familiarity with words familiarity with words and confidence.and confidence.

READ-ALOUD:READ-ALOUD:Hearing fluent Hearing fluent

reading modeled and reading modeled and being exposed to go being exposed to go fiction and fiction and nonfiction nonfiction

text builds interest in text builds interest in reading andreading and

background knowledge.background knowledge.

GIRP:GIRP:Reading within one’s own Reading within one’s own

range and interest level builds range and interest level builds success and love of reading.success and love of reading.

Formula For Success

Why Read Aloud?

During a read-aloud, children

build literacy skills by:• Listening to what good reading

sounds like• Observing think-aloud strategies• Building background knowledge• Encountering new vocabulary

Why Focus on Fluency?

When children do repeated

reading, they build literacy

skills by:• Increasing accuracy and

speed• Improving expression and

phrasing • Gaining confidence• Practicing new vocabulary

When children experience

success reading independently,

they improve literacy skills by:• Practicing reading strategies

with authentic texts• Selecting books that interest

them • Building confidence• Developing pleasure reading

instincts

Why do Guided Independent Reading Practice?Why Do Guided Independent Reading Practice?

Emergent Reader Support

Extended read-alouds Reading together

activities Emergent reader skill-

building modules

The Emergent Reader Literacy Block consists of:

Staffing

Site-based literacy staff consists of: Program Coordinator A sufficient number of literacy tutors to ensure a

10:1 child to staff ratio

Regional and national literacy support consists of:

Program Specialist Education Specialist

Developing Reader Results PY 2012

75% of kids in our target population achieved significant reading growth

Reading gains for evaluated students are equivalent to5 additional months of school

US Programs 2012 Results19

64%68%

73%68%

72%75%

69%73% 75%

58%60%62%64%66%68%70%72%74%76%

All students Regularlyparticipating

In the target group

Percentage of children achieving significant reading growth

PY 10 PY 11 PY 12

Afterschool & In-School Literacy Results PY 2012 Emergent Readers

96* sites with ER participation serving 3,441 children• PY11: 92 sites, 3,614 children

Proportion who met scale score growth goals

PY 11 PY 12

All students 67 % 72 %

Regularly participating students 69 % 73 %

Regularly participating struggling readers

82 % 86 %

US Programs 2012 Results20

* Four ER sites were excluded from the evaluation

Summary

U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency | ELEMENTARY EDUCATION21

Save the Children partners with communities to serve children in a continuum of services from birth through sixth grade.

Language and literacy are important components of both programs.

Activities are research based. Results are strong.

U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency | ELEMENTARY EDUCATION22

About the U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency

For additional resources and

training opportunities, please visit the U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency

at

www.SavetheChildren.org/USCenter

Save the Children’s U.S. Center for Child Development and Resiliency is a community for professionals and advocates of children’s issues, including education, health, and emergency preparedness.