Initiative takes scientific approach to literacy

Recent NECAP test scores remained flat for elementary students in Rhode Island. But at four schools, it's a different story. Their scores are up.

Ten-year-old Jarissa, a fifth-grader at the Highlander Charter School in Providence, is reading fluently today.

It's a far cry from where she was just three years ago. She struggled like many of her classmates, scoring low on standardized tests.

She remembers the frustration in second grade when she picked up a chapter book.

"It was really hard because I couldn't pronounce the words right," Jarissa said.

Then along came the Dunn Institute's Rhode Island Literacy Project, a five-year demonstration initiative funded by the Grant Makers Council of Rhode Island that is focused on school reform.

Teachers are trained to be detectives to uncover specifically why children aren't learning and to not give up until they find a solution. Scores at Highlander went up 19 percent in two years.

Cathy Sanford is director of the Highlander Dunn Institute.

"We're treating kids who aren't reading at benchmark like they have a fever. We're using the scientific approach. So, if you have a fever, you have to figure out why you have a fever, what to do about it, and then if what you did actually worked," Sanford said.

Teachers lead small groups in literacy class, and every child is aware of his or her targets. Alternative reading approaches, such as Orton Gillingham, are used for students with learning differences.

Jarissa had special help from a tutor who worked with her one on one to overcome language barrier. Her family speaks Spanish at home.

"The teachers have been getting together and tweaking the plans and trying news things. We've been bringing new strategies to bear. All of those things collectively have started to make a difference," Sanford said.

It's all about using good data to support the teachers' work. And parents, like Jarissa's father, Johnny Torres, are encouraged to take an active role.

"We probably have to work double. I can't complain. She is a wonderful and great daughter," Torres said.

When you have something that works this well, you have to share it. That's exactly what they'll be doing at other Rhode Island schools.

Scores are up an average of 9 percent at the four partner schools, which include Fallon Memorial and Elizabeth Baldwin in Pawtucket and Fort Barton in Tiverton.

Jarissa and her classmates realize that the literacy barrier that would have certainly limited their future has now vanished.

Jarissa says she wants to be a doctor for children.

"We want Jarissa to be a doctor. So, we have to make sure she has the skills she needs to achieve that dream," Sanford said.

The program was paid for through a grant funded by local companies like Hasbro, CVS Caremark, Collette Vacations and others that believe that helping to educate their future workforce is in everybody's best interest.