Aldine Moves Into Year 2 of Plan to Raise Reading Achievement

Disponible en:

The school district launched its new literacy initiative in the fall of 2020.

Aldine ISD launched its new literacy initiative in 2020-2021, researching how students learn best to read. In the fall of 2020, the district launched its new framework based on the science of reading. The district also implemented high-quality instructional materials to be used on primary, elementary, and middle schools campuses and focused on training educators.

Aldine ISD approved using Amplify‘s materials. According to Director of Literacy Demedia Edwards, the influence of teachers on students is a large piece of the puzzle. However, research also shows that curriculum has a significant effect on student learning. The high-quality curriculum ensures all students receive strong literacy instruction every day.

Image from Amplify

What does a high-quality curriculum look like in action?

1. It looks like ALL students are engaged and thinking.
2. It looks like teachers are using interesting and challenging materials.
3. It looks like a vibrant classroom community.
4. It looks like a culture of continuous learning for educators, districts, and partners.
5. Finally and most importantly, it looks like improved learning outcomes for students.

District Sees Progress

The change made a difference. After one year, students showed a marked improvement from the 2019-2020 school year. According to the district’s end-of-year mClass reading measure — a test that measures the skills that students need to be strong readers — nearly 50 percent of students in kinder through fifth grade ended the year at or above grade level in May.

“Our focus for year three is skillful fidelity and increased student engagement,” said Edwards. “We are embarking on a year filled with building stronger readers and writers using our high-quality instructional materials.”

New Literacy Program for High School Students

Image from Amplify

The high schools will see changes in English language arts 1-4 starting in fall 2021. Grades 9-12 will be using Odell Education’s Texas High School Literacy Program. Odell is an innovative program created specifically for Texas high school students and educators. It is designed to support seamless learning in a variety of contexts. The program empowers teachers and students through dynamic activities centered on rich texts and topics as they develop TEKS-aligned literacy skills, habits, and knowledge.

“We are thrilled to launch the new literacy program for our high schoolers,” said Edwards. “Our students will have a targeted reading program that fosters the literacy skills they need to thrive wherever their path may lead them.”

Edwards added that Odell Education’s materials inspire creativity, build knowledge, and enhance students’ skills through student-centered and student-led analyses of robust, challenging texts and topics. The high-quality instructional units empower students to pose questions, inquire deeply, reflect, and evolve as independent thinkers and engaged participants in a learning community. The materials root literacy in texts and ideas: students explore texts, concepts, and ideas to consider.

The Odell program is designed to help educators adapt to each student’s unique needs, interests, and classrooms.

A suite of integrated and optional activities and supports provides flexibility for students who have demonstrated varying levels of mastery so that students are primed to succeed in the rigorous curriculum.

“We have set high goals for ourselves and our students,” added Edwards. “Every change, every decision is made by putting all students first and what is best for them. From quality materials to improving instruction support, we are focused on getting literacy right to improve student outcomes.”

For Edwards, the work is more than improving test scores. To her, the work Aldine ISD is doing in literacy is about equity and “providing our students with opportunities and choices in their future.”