In 2018-19, the first year that Lori Webster was director of Mountain Mahogany Community School, the previous school year's data showed only 32% of students in grades 3-8 were proficient in reading, she said.
To improve reading proficiency rates, the K-8 public charter school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, "started very small," Webster said.
She hired Alexandra Wilcox, a parent at the school, as a reading interventionist, who became trained in using science of reading approaches, which explicitly teaches students the connections between letters and sounds.
As Wilcox started using those approaches with the youngest students in grades K-2, other teachers became interested in the science of reading training. The school also switched its reading and writing curricula, altered its school schedule and changed instructional routines in classrooms — all to support the focus on improved literacy.
The efforts are producing results. In 2022, 52% of students grades 3-8 tested proficient in reading. About 230 students attend the K-8 school.
"The reason that we kept going down the road that led to all those ultimate changes is because it was very effective," said Webster.
As school systems across the country put more time and effort into science of reading approaches, Mountain Mahogany Community School leaders shared insights about how they made professional development accessible to educators, and how they informed students and families about changes to the school's literacy instruction.
Be open to advice from skilled practitioners
Wilcox previously worked as a teacher before leaving the classroom in 2008 to raise her own children.
When one of her children struggled with learning to read, Wilcox, on her own initiative, began studying science of reading approaches using training from the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education, or IMSE, a company that helps educators teach effective reading strategies. She learned about helping emerging readers identify individual sounds in words and how letters and groups of letters fit together to make words.
Wilcox hadn't planned to return to teaching, but when she told Webster about her training, Webster offered her the reading interventionist position.
Soon enough, Wilcox started working with a small group of students who began showing progress in literacy after receiving structured, systematic and individualized lessons.
Webster said she learned a lot about science of reading approaches from Wilcox, who was keeping the director updated on students' progress.
"A lot of this was about being open to what skilled practitioners in the field are sharing with you as a school leader," Webster said.
Scaling up
Other teachers at the school, hearing about the small group's success, expressed interest in also participating in literacy training.
"It really was kind of like a natural snowball effect," said Wilcox.
But training several teachers would be a larger commitment from the school. The IMSE training, Webster said, was about $1,500 per teacher.
The cost for teacher training to help nonreaders become readers would be worth the expense, the school determined. "That would be an investment that any school leader would not want to pass up," said Webster, adding the school used funding from Title I grants, operational revenue and other sources to pay for eight teachers to receive IMSE training.
The school was named a Structured Literacy Model School by the New Mexico Public Education Department last year and received a $50,000 grant. Structured Literacy Model Schools receive additional structured literacy support from the state for educators. Part of the grant is supporting training for a certified academic language therapist to work individually or in a small group with students who have dyslexia.
"I think one of the things I've noticed that's been really powerful is that our teachers are now all speaking the same language and actually have a depth of understanding about what that means," Webster said.
At the same time, the school switched its reading curriculum from one that focused on a balanced literacy approach to one with lessons supporting structured literacy to be more in line with the science of reading.
Additionally, classroom schedules were altered to dedicate time to address foundational literacy skills on top of reading and writing.
Cultivating buy-in, understanding
As Wilcox began working with the small group of students, she had 1-to-1 conversations with those students' families about the literacy lessons their children were receiving. She also took time to explain her strategy with other teachers who were curious about the method and she attended a school board meeting to share the school's literacy journey.
Educating the school community about the approaches Mountain Mahogany Community School took — and the lessons educators learned in the process — has been helpful in building support and understanding of students' reading skills, Wilcox and Webster said.
As for what's next, the school is looking to build up vocabulary instruction, as well as supports for older students who are working to improve their literacy skills. Webster said the school's educators also are deepening their knowledge in structured literacy and striving to work collaboratively as literacy approaches are improved.
"Every student is their own little puzzle that we are figuring out what they need to be successful," Webster said. "We are continually working towards improvement in this really critical area."
Wilcox said the school is aiming to improve on its 52% reading proficiency rate. "The more work you do and the better you get and the more you see students succeed, the more you want to do it and learn and grow. And I think we're luckily in that space right now," Wilcox said.
Dive Awards
