To start the school year off right, invest in literacy

Key points:

As a country, we are at a pivotal time. Recent national test scores found that our country’s eighth graders are still a full school year behind pre-COVID levels in their reading and math achievements. This is tough news to swallow, but I’m choosing to view this as motivation. 

As the executive principal at the Emma Donnan campus of Adelante Schools in Indianapolis, I want my students to be successful. My goal is for students to gain essential academic skills and build a robust social-emotional toolkit so they are set up to thrive in an ever-changing world. At Adelante Schools, one of the key ways we’re pursuing that goal is by going all in on literacy. Reading is foundational to everything in a young person’s life–in and out of the classroom. 

This year’s Indiana IREAD scores proved that far too many students–about one in five–are struggling to hit their grade-level reading benchmarks. However, these scores also showed that Adelante’s investments in literacy are working: The percentage of our third graders who passed the assessment increased from 57.5 percent to 71.9 percent in a year. 

I’m proud we have implemented initiatives that are proving effective for student achievement. Here’s what we have done, and what I implore other school leaders to explore so we can all work toward student success together.  

Invest in early reading and the science of reading in a holistic manner. Students are struggling to read, and it’s a crisis. Working with support organizations like We Are Lit and Relay Graduate School of Education, we have developed a professional development system to provide teachers with deep dives into the cognitive science of reading, individualized support, ongoing coaching, real-time feedback, and practice clinics. It’s not enough just to provide some one-time workshops–we must continually invest in building teachers’ skills. Teachers also observe and track the minute data of student reading skills that often go overlooked.  

Bring data to life and prioritize planning. It’s important to dive into annual test scores and national reports, but if we want to be effective educators we need to be conducting real-time data analysis and adjusting as we go.  As a member of the Relay Leadership Leverage Institute Fellowship, I have the privilege of meeting with school leaders from all over the country to learn from experts and hone in on our leadership priorities. This year, data and planning have been at the forefront. One poignant recommendation is to engage in deep analysis of student work weekly. Not quarterly, not yearly. Weekly. This is not about just pulling up test scores but rather, looking at what students authentically produce to get into the weeds of what they know and don’t know. This will allow leaders and teachers to effectively identify brights spots or gaps in student understanding, plan to reteach the gaps, and build on the mastered concepts. When you’re on the road and you hit a roadblock, do you stop and turn around? No; you find another way to reach your destination. That’s what we need to do with our teaching. To implement effective instruction, we must be checking in regularly and planning based on real-time needs.  

Build your A-team. As a school leader, I know I need to delegate. We have created and invested in specialized roles; we have a dedicated Chief Literacy Officer who is responsible for overseeing and driving the school’s literacy initiatives. We also have a chief mathematics officer. We know we need the right people who are committed and knowledgeable–this is especially pertinent for our staff and leadership. When we have this strong bench in place, we are better set up to support our teachers. When teachers are better set up for success, that trickles down to students. And aren’t students what this is all about? 

I call on school leaders to look under the hoods of their schools. The start of the school year allows you to model best practices to set your staff, teachers and students up for success with renewed energy for the year to come. As we model teamwork for our students, let us school leaders learn from each other to ensure that every single student knows their school is providing them with an excellent education.