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RESERVE — Fifth Ward Elementary teachers and administrators successfully completed the Aim Pathways to Proficient Reading Course. Teachers were required to complete 17 asynchronous modules, attend a series of synchronous virtual community of practice meetings and pass all assessments.  Teachers engaged in a pre-course knowledge assessment to provide baseline data centered around their knowledge and skills in the Science of Reading. Upon completion of the course teachers were administered a post-course Knowledge Inventory assessment. On average, teachers grew about 27%.  Fifth Ward Elementary is proud to announce that nine educators have met the proficiency requirements and will receive a certificate of completion. The State of Louisiana has just approved Senate Bill 216 to enact R.S. 17:24.10 and 3996(B) (59), requiring teachers to receive early literacy training. All teachers who completed this course at Fifth Ward Elementary will be “grandfathered in.” This means they will not have to complete the course in the future, while all teachers in St. John the Baptist Parish will be required to receive training in early literacy.

Melissa Watson, curriculum facilitator, said, “Being a part of the Literacy Pilot has allowed district leaders, school administrators and teachers to build our knowledge around the science of reading to ensure our scholars are given every opportunity to get the instruction they need that science supports.  Teachers are provided on-going support that focuses on leveraging data from screeners, progress monitoring and making instructional decisions to meet the ultimate goal of ensuring all students are reading proficiently by the end of third grade.”

Teachers will be able to draw from specialized knowledge in the science of reading to increase students’ literacy outcomes. Teachers have learned effective instructional practices that will benefit all students, including those with or at risk for language-based learning disabilities.