NPS Teaching & Learning Newsletter

This issue of the NPS Teaching and Learning Newsletter is focused on the district's academic [reading and math] intervention services, partially funded locally and partially funded by the Title I [No Child Left Behind Act] Federal Grant.

Title I is a federal aid program for schools. The goal of Title I is to ensure a high quality education for every child by providing extra help to students who need it most. Title I has three primary objectives:

• to improve student achievement for all participating children
• to improve staff development
• to improve parental and community involvement

Title I funds are distributed to districts and individual schools based on the number of economically-disadvantaged families served. However, once a school qualifiies for Title I funds, academic need, not economic status, determines which students receive extra service. Title I funds are intended to supplement (add to), not replace, state and local funds. In Northampton these 4 schools meet the economic threshold and receive Title I funding:

• JKF Middle School
• Bridge Street School
• Leeds School
• RK Finn Ryan Road School

There are currently reading and math interventionists in each elementary school and at JFK, regardless of Title I eligibility. Our local budget supports partial salaries and benefits for Interventionists and Coaches. Any child who demonstrates a need, as evidenced through our local assessments, is eligible to get extra support from a specialized math or reading teacher. This is an amazing support for our young learners that helps many students catch up to their peers without needing a lengthy and expensive referral to Special Education testing and potential services.

Testimonial from an NPS Interventionist:

"In the first grade here at _____ we use centers to teach reading. Each teacher: classroom, special education, and reading interventionist, has a group focusing on one of the following: decoding skills, comprehension, fluency, decodable readers, letter sounds and names, encoding/spelling. The impact on reading scores has been dramatic. Kindergarteners and first graders are able to make enormous growth which is reflected in our MClass scores. When their reading levels are measured we see significant movement in each child's raw score but also incredible growth between each measure as well. Beginning readers will review sounds and letter names and blend words to encode or spell them. Students use grammar and mechanics to write complete sentences and use invented spelling to express themselves. Interventionists work in small groups outside of reading centers. Using data and observation we determine which students need more support and meet with them to close gaps in knowledge, practice reading fluently and review spelling rules."

Title I funds partially fund reading teacher salaries and reading and math coach salaries and benefits. Additional Title I funding has been allocated towards literacy and math materials for student use at the Title I elementary schools and the Title I JFK middle school as well as funding spring family engagement events (i.e. "math and reading night") at participating schools. With reading teachers in each of our schools, the district is able to provide regular education, tiered literacy intervention to any student who demonstrates a need, and who is not already receiving additional reading services. Intervention support is provided through supplemental reading lessons that focus on one or more literacy skill areas outlined in the 5 pillars of early literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The district-funded math interventionists in each building provide targeted support to accelerate student understanding of mathematical concepts, mastery of the state standards, and effective use of the standards for mathematical practice. This year, we have been able to staff at least one full time reading and at least one math intervention position in each of the schools.

"When I came to ___________school this year I was lost in my normal math class and didn’t know what to do because I hadn’t known how to do any of the work and a fact is that I have not been to a school in five years until now. I admit, it was a rough moment but being in ________'s class has helped me get back on track and up to the level of the other students' learning level here. He is a kind hearted man who goes above and beyond to make sure his students have the chance to understand. He is a very social teacher who loves to interact with his students giving them little math games to help them learn. He also has provided us with journals to write down what we think so he can check and see if we have come to an understanding and if not he gives us more time and explains to us how it works and then gives us more time to figure it out. And if not he goes step by step to teach us about it."

Our coaches works with students, classroom teachers, special educators, and ELL teachers to help with curriculum differentiation to meet the needs of all learners! They are easpecially busy this year helping classroom teachers learn about and implement the core math and ELA programs!

insert

Harlacher et al. (2014) described six key tenets of the MTSS framework: All students are capable of grade-level learning with adequate support. MTSS is rooted in proactivity and prevention. The system utilizes evidence-based practices. Decisions and procedures are driven by school and student data. The degree of support given to students is based on their needs. Implementation occurs school-wide and requires stakeholder collaboration.

The Northampton Public Schools currently has a robust, regular education math and reading intervention program, K-8, which exemplifies best practices for implementing Response to Intervention - also known as the Massachusetts Tiered Systems of Support. With a fully staffed Tier II Intervention team, we hope to continue to offer intervention services to our most vulnerable students at academic risk.

Testimonials from NPS parents:

"I can't emphasize enough how vital reading Intervention has been for my son. At the beginning of the year he was really struggling with reading, and his classroom teacher and the reading teacher both agreed he would benefit from Reading intervention. The reading teacher’s direct instruction, creative lessons, and positive energy all made a profound impact on not only my son's reading skills - but his feelings about reading. He is now a proud, confident, and eager reader."

"We are very grateful for this program. We saw the difference and having specific stories that mirrored what was being worked on in school was helpful."

"Thanks for making this available! ____ seemed to take to it, enjoy the friends there, and her reading improved."

"When we first started working with _____, our first grader couldn't consistently count or identify all of the numbers from one to ten. We weren't sure what was going on, but we knew something wasn't quite right. Now, really just a few months later, our son can count from one to one hundred, he can add, he can subtract, and he is more comfortable with numbers. ______ has managed to make math fun for our kiddo, so he's not just learning but also enjoying his time with ______. And as parents, when we have checked in on progress, we've always gotten super prompt, very helpful, thoughtful responses."

"Thank you for your encouragement and reading strategies in helping ____. She is very proud of her progress - as are we!"

"Huge help, she now gets excited to read! Thank you for all you do to help ____!"

"____ has improved so much in her reading. She always talked about how much she enjoyed Title 1 Reading."

"______ improved by leaps and bounds, Thank you!"

"Todo está perfecto. Gracias."