St. John the Baptist Elementary tackles pandemic learning loss with multifaceted literacy program

Courtesy photo/Saint John the Baptist Elementary School

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The new literacy program at St. John the Baptist Catholic Elementary School offers small-group reading.

Becca Moore, M.S.Ed.

DRAPER — St. John the Baptist Elementary School has implemented a new literacy program to help combat the loss of learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Collaborative Literacy Hour (CLH) was implemented in the fall of 2020 when SJBE reopened; during its inaugural year it served kindergarten through second grade. The third grade was added the following fall.

The school’s CLH team is led by Gina Parker, director of curriculum and faculty development. Each classroom is assigned a teacher or paraeducator, who “pushes into” the classroom during the designated CLH time frame. During this time the classroom teacher and classroom paraeducator provide small group reading instruction. The CLH push-in teacher implements Words Their Way, a word study curriculum that provides instruction in phonics, vocabulary and spelling. Students are all assessed and organized into groups by ability for both reading and Words Their Way groups. This differentiated instruction provides the opportunity for the instructors to hone in on the specific skills students need to develop.

CLH provides instruction for all students. Students who are striving with literacy skills are added to a “pull out” program. Literacy support classes are held during each grade level’s PE or music class. This ensures that students are not missing any core subject instruction and that they are still able to attend every special course provided at SJBE at least once a week. The Literacy Support Program, led by Becca Moore, director of student support services, monitors students’ progress through a variety of assessments and collaboration with the classroom teachers. The program provides small-group instruction twice a week, which develops and reinforces the following skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, word study, reading comprehension, fluency and writing skills.

The Literacy Team also facilitates the additional support of students outside of the school day with its Read & Return book program. The program was implemented to ensure that students  are provided with a book that is on their reading level to help develop their reading skills. This book is their “take-home book” and is read in the student’s free time. This program is provided for all students in grades kindergarten through second grade; students who are striving readers in grades third through fifth are also accommodated. After reading the book, students are encouraged to take an Accelerated Reading Comprehension quiz. Their progress is monitored so that book levels can be adjusted as needed. This program has positively impacted students’ reading scores and they are encouraged by rewards and success.

This pandemic has had many unfortunate side effects, but St. John the Baptist Elementary School will not let its students’ reading skills suffer. All of the pieces of this dynamic literacy program are intended to lead to positive student progress.

Becca Moore, M.S.Ed. is director of student support services at Saint John the Baptist Elementary School.