Elementary students across the district are learning to become better readers thanks to the great work of our Ken-Ton classroom teachers, instructional support specialists, and district administrators.
This summer, more than 130 teachers from Gr. K-2, Special Education, and ENL came together to learn more about UFLI Reading Foundations, a new program our elementary schools have begun implementing. Teachers attended two days of training in either July or August with special guest trainers, like Dr. Colleen Pollett who’s a contributing author to the UFLI program.
Teachers learned about concepts new to the school’s existing practice, and explored the nuts and bolts of teaching UFLI and implementing it into their classrooms. Teachers and administrators had the chance to try the eight-step lessons with materials in hand so that they could feel comfortable and ready to launch UFLI as soon as school started.
“As instructional coaches, supporting the incredible teachers we work with daily, we are excited to learn and grow with our colleagues,” Instructional Support Specialists Kari Fiutak and Amy Butler said. “Our teachers work hard every day to meet the individual needs of our students and it’s motivating to refine the ways we can support teaching and learning.”
UFLI is an explicit and systematic program that teaches students the foundational skills necessary for proficient reading. It’s designed to ensure students systematically acquire each skill needed and learn to apply those skills with confidence. As younger students learn to decode better, they’ll simultaneously build stronger learning comprehension and become better skilled readers and writers.
“It's incredibly important that we in Ken-Ton are responsive to the needs of our students. They are the reason we come to school at all,” Fiutak and Butler said. “Our universal screener data shows we can be more strategic and efficient about how we teach students phonics, that is, how our students unlock the code of letters and sounds and meaning.”
The transition to UFLI Foundations began last year in 12 pilot kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. Over the course of the school year, teachers saw vast growth in their students’ ability to read and write.
“Those teachers observed greater confidence in their students, improved reading and writing fluency, and increased outcomes on our universal screener for reaching,” Fiutak and Butler said. “We’re eager to see that growth scale across all of our primary classrooms.”
