Believe and Read
Partnered with Groves Academy
We are absolutely thrilled to kick off our sixth year partnering with Groves Academy for the incredible Believe and Read program! Every day, our amazing K-3 students dive into 90-120 minutes of dynamic literacy writing instruction. This program, rooted in the “Science of Reading,” is designed to empower all our students to achieve their reading dreams!
Our fabulous Enrichment Teacher, Mrs. Brooke Johnson-Korbel, is not just our onsite Believe and Read Coach—she’s a powerhouse! She mentors and certifies classroom teachers through an exciting two-year coaching journey, complete with weekly classroom visits. Using innovative, research-based techniques, Mrs. Johnson-Korbel also provides extra support for students needing additional help and challenges our gifted and talented learners to soar above grade level!
SDS Shines Bright in Literacy for the Fifth Consecutive Year!
At St. Dominic School, we are celebrating a fantastic milestone: our fifth successful year with the Believe and Read literacy curriculum in partnership with Groves Academy! Our dedicated K-3 teachers, along with our amazing Enrichment Teacher, have passionately focused on closing the reading gap for our students. And guess what? We are proud to announce that an incredible 87% of our 1st-3rd graders are reading at or above grade level—with NO high-risk readers! To put that in perspective, only 40% of U.S. 3rd graders are reading at grade level. Talk about making a difference!
Our daily whole-group instruction includes a wealth of engaging activities in phonemic awareness, spelling, handwriting (both print and cursive), reading fluency, and phonics. Plus, students identified as high-risk and moderate-risk receive personalized lessons that truly cater to their needs, including:
– 3-4 days of small group instruction with their classroom teacher
– 2-3 additional days of individual instruction with our dedicated Enrichment Teacher
And for those students at or above grade level? They participate in small group work that challenges and excites them, led by either their classroom teacher or our enthusiastic Enrichment Teacher. We couldn’t be more excited about the progress our students and teachers have made this year!
A Game-Changer: The New Groves Literacy Program
This 2024-2025 school year, we’re super excited to introduce the new Groves Knowledge-Based Curriculum to our literacy program at St. Dominic School! We are among the first schools to embrace this innovative curriculum, which perfectly complements our existing phonics program. The Knowledge-Based Curriculum includes essential skills in literacy knowledge, vocabulary, background knowledge, language structure, and verbal reasoning. By merging the Groves phonics curriculum with this exciting new addition, we ensure that every student at St. Dominic School receives top-notch literacy instruction in a small class environment—giving them the chance to read at or above grade level!
We are keeping the momentum going—together, we are changing lives through literacy!
2023-2024 SDS 1st-3rd Groves Literacy Scores
