Seattle Summer 2024
Dearborn Park Elementary
We designed an intensive literacy program with individualized instruction in core skills each day, and an enrichment curriculum to expand world knowledge and vocabulary and inspire young imaginations with great stories read aloud. We also provided staff training so the team could continue to support students from within the community.
Results
All students improved their skills, but those who were the farthest behind (between 1-4 years below grade level) made the most gains, moving from 53% to 85% of grade level!
This leap is typical for students who struggle the most because that struggle signals their need for explicit, systematic help with phonemic awareness, linguistic patterns, and decoding skills.
Our thanks go out to partner School Connect WA, a nonprofit organization providing summer and afterschool programs around Seattle. Their staff and volunteers took on a whole new level of curriculum support, working hard to provide students with learning and fun every single day.
Fall 2024 – NOPE
Seattle Public Schools
Sadly, we are on hold with two programs in K-5 schools where only 38% of students read at grade level – in one of the most educated cities in the U.S.
Instead of funding fall programs this year, the Seattle Department of Early Learning (DEEL, funded by the 2016 Levy) voted to fold the remaining 2024 funds into the 2025 budget. In addition, Seattle Schools are facing a $100 million shortfall and are not supporting programs like ours.
That is why we launched our recent GoFundMe campaign, so we can help K-5 students sooner, rather than after months – or years – of needless struggle.
Graduated without Reading Proficiency
Consider – 92% of Seattle Public School seniors graduated in 2024 but only 64% could read proficiently (defined as college or career-ready).
Until 95% of all students can read, we are not doing it right.
Strategic Plan
The reading crisis is complex and layered. In the two-page PDF below we recap the issue, opportunity, our strategy and rationale. This is a short version of our longer Case for Support, coming soon.
Capacity & Launch
Our team needs to customize the instruction and training vetted by decades of research, to apply it with fidelity in afterschool and summer settings. The goal is to put students on the path to proficiency, and develop a template for expansion to other schools, grades, and communities in Washington State.
We intentionally created a public non-profit company, to ensure that this vital knowledge will enter the public domain. We need your support to make this a reality.