Believe and Read
Partnered with Groves Academy
We are thrilled to be a part of the Believe and Read program in partnership with Groves Academy. This partnership is made possible through the Catholic School Center of Excellence. All of our students in Grades K-3 spend 90-120 minutes per day in literacy and writing instruction. The Believe and Read program is based on the “Science of Reading” to help all students meet their reading goals.
Our Enrichment Teacher, Ms. Brooke Johnson, is also our onsite Believe and Read Coach. She mentors classroom teachers in techniques and instructional strategies, as well as works with students needing additional support and intervention to close the gap in their reading achievement.
SDS Finishes STRONG in Literacy for the second consecutive year!
At St. Dominic School, we just completed our third year with the Believe and Read literacy/writing curriculum in partnership with Groves Academy. As part of this third year in the program, our K-3 classroom teachers, along with our Enrichment Teacher, continued to focus on closing the gap for as many of our students as possible.
In addition to everyday whole group instruction, students in our high risk and moderate risk categories also received:
- 2-3 days per week of small group instruction with their classroom teacher
- An additional 2-3 days per week of individual/small group instruction with our Enrichment Teacher
The investment that our school and CSCOE have made in our students paid off in dividends during the 2020-2021 school year. We are thrilled with the progress our students and teachers made this year!
Highlights
2021-2022 School Year
- Built upon achievement from 2020-2021 school year and reduced the number of students at risk by OVER 20% in one school year
2020-2021 School Year
- In Fall 2020, 29% of our Gr. 1-3 students were considered high risk for not meeting grade level benchmarks in Literacy. By May 2021, we reduced our high risk students to only 11%.
- Every one of our 3rd grade students moved out of the high risk category by the end of the year. This means that every student has closed the gap for literacy and is ready for 4th grade.
- In our 1st grade classroom, we closed the gap for 28% of the students in just one academic year!
- All of our teachers and St. Dominic School have met the criteria to be a Certified Believe and Read School!
1st Grade Students’ Progress Throughout 2020-2021
In fall 2020, only 50% of our students met 1st grade literacy benchmarks. By spring, 78% of our students had met their literacy benchmark. Within one school year (during a pandemic) we were able to close the gap for 28% of our 1st grade students!
