by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Reading is an enormous predictor in how successful one may be in life, and an inability to do so can prevent a person from reaching their full potential. Yet, it’s an area where the numbers are dire in the U.S., with a recent report showing that 68% of South Dakota fourth graders are not proficient in their reading skills. In Garretson, though, students are performing well above that statistic, partly because of the elementary school's Title I reading and math program. It has been seeing remarkable success thanks to the school's ability to put two teachers in the position for the past three years.
The Title I program is designed to close achievement gaps by helping elementary students who are performing below the 30th percentile in reading and math develop the skills they need to be on grade level. It is not special education, though some students may transition to special education or have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Title I teacher Kim Macziewski (pronounced "mah-chess-key") and Title Education Assistant Stacey Williamson have been working hard with Garretson Elementary students, and in the past four years, the Title I program has served 139 students in reading and 121 in math. Mrs. Mac, as she is known by her students, pointed out to the Garretson School Board last week Monday that the program has seen a lot of success in the past few years, and most of that success is because there are two teachers.
"What we have done in the past... there was one Title I teacher and that person serviced students in grades K through 5th in reading, and 2nd through 5th in math," she said. "And I did that for a year when I came here, along with the ELL (English as a second language) program, and basically met 15 minutes with each grade level."
It was, she pointed out, like putting band aids on the problem, but it wasn't fixing it.
"We didn't really make tons of progress in that short period of time," she said. However, three years ago, extra federal funding made it possible to hire a second educator. And with two teachers in that position, Macziewski found that students started improving in leaps and bounds.
"With the second person we've really been able to do quite a bit more diagnostic work with kids, instead of just looking at a MAP test score," she said to the board. "That (the MAP test) is a one-hour screenshot in a day of how a student is feeling and performing."
More article below - Read with a mailed subscription account or full on-line subscription!
Your financial support of this locally-owned, locally-run newspaper and its advertisers ensures we can continue bringing you great content. Thank you for your support!
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE NOW TO ALL MAIL SUBSCRIBERS
All mailed issue subscribers can receive access to the full version of some articles, archives, and more. To claim, create a user account - we'll verify the current mailed subscription and get your access activated! (Please allow up to 3 business days for activation.) Alternately, you can pay for your subscription here and automatically get a mailed subscriber log-in.
Already have an account? Log In:
