EPSD schools and teachers doing the hard lift for improved literacy

(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Evangeline Parish School District’s K-8 Curriculum Specialist Madelyn Causey.)
Elementary schools across Evangeline Parish are working diligently toward a common goal—literacy for all. Louisiana’s literacy rate is among the lowest in the country, but school administrators, teachers, and staff members throughout the district are implementing an initiative that aims to change that.
Cheri Fontenot, elementary supervisor for Evangeline Parish schools stated, “Our literacy data has revealed an urgent need to close specific gaps in reading fluency and other components of reading. Literacy is the foundation for all other learning. This literacy initiative is our commitment to ensuring that all students in Evangeline Parish have the opportunity to succeed both in school and in life.”
Stakeholders from the district, including Kelli Lafleur, director of special education, curriculum specialists, supervisors, and other members of the special education team combined research-based practices with the science of reading to develop a specific district-wide intervention plan. The intervention program is based on the latest research regarding effective literacy instruction and is tailored to the unique needs of EPSD students. Learning to read is a complex process. When students struggle to learn to read, research and the science of reading recommend first determining where the gaps are, then teaching those specific skills until they are mastered. Skills should be taught directly and systematically- with an emphasis on phonemic awareness, decoding, reading comprehension, and fluency. This is exactly how Evangeline Parish School District’s literacy initiative was designed.
Fontenot and Lafleur reflected, “We knew what we needed to do, and we knew how we needed to do it. What came next was a huge ask – all hands on deck to implement this initiative the right way – to really have a positive impact on students.”
Instructional strategists worked alongside teachers to screen students in kindergarten through fifth grade. These literacy screeners provided teachers with an idea of each student’s overall health of reading. Any students identified as “at risk” were then assessed to identify specific gaps in foundational skill knowledge.
Students were grouped according to the specific skills they needed to master, and they receive instruction each day during an intervention block related to those skills.
“The work that had to be done by school staff to get all of these students identified, grouped, and scheduled for intervention was immense, but all EPSD schools and staff members rolled-up their sleeves and gave a resounding ‘yes’ to being committed to see this through,” said Superintendent Darwan Lazard.
Teachers and staff have worked tirelessly, participating in professional development, learning new instructional strategies, and continuing to create engaging and effective learning experiences for their students.
Even teachers whose focus is usually outside literacy-specific instruction, such as math or science, joined in the initiative.
“We have teachers, paras, our counselor, our speech therapist – everyone has come together with one goal in mind, and that’s to move our students forward and get them to read on their grade level,” said Ville Platte Elementary Principal Katrina Ardoin. “So many staff members have said how grateful they are to have that sacred time built into the schedule for intentional instruction so that our kids can learn how to read.”
And preliminary data indicates the plan is working.
Madelyn Causey, ELA and Social Studies Curriculum Specialist reported 85% of students throughout the district demonstrated growth on the first progress monitoring assessment.
“While we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us, what we are seeing now is promising,” she expressed. We are looking forward to the middle of the year benchmark data in December.”