2022-2023 was the second year of the Believe and Read program. Powered by the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence and in partnership with Groves Learning Organization (GLO), a national leader in literacy instruction, Believe and Read is a three-year initiative that brings GLO’s methodology to St. John’s through outstanding professional development and teacher coaching. Our goal is to ensure that every student at our school reads at or above grade level.
For the past two years a literacy coach from GLO has worked with our Kindergarten – Third grade and intervention teachers. Our K-3 teachers have all become Believe and Read certified. Teachers incorporate a daily 30-minute phonics-based lesson to ensure students are grasping the reading rules they need to achieve fluency. These lessons use a multisensory approach that explicitly teaches the connections between letters and sounds. Our teachers have received weekly support and feedback from their literacy coach, along with assistance in tracking student progress through routine assessments. In 2022-2023 students began meeting in small groups with our interventionist. This allows daily targeting of skills for students who need it the most. This time is also used by the teacher to target higher level skills with students who do not meet with the interventionist. Next year two of our teachers will be trained to be Believe and Read coaches to help continue this program.
Click here to read the Believe and Read Magazine.
