Mary Queen of Peace Catholic School is excited to be a part of the Believe and Read program – taking struggling readers to grade-level, and grade-level readers to advanced!
Since the fall of 2021, we have been proud to call ourselves a Believe and Read school. Powered by the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE), Believe and Read is a three-year initiative that brings Groves Academy’s best-in-class reading instruction to our school.
In the fall of 2021, 28% of our 1st grade class were at a high or moderate risk of not reaching grade level benchmarks in literacy. By May 0f 2022, only 11% were still considered at risk. 2nd grade saw similar results. In the fall 35% of students were at high or moderate risk, but by spring only 6% were considered at risk.
We will continue to monitor the outcomes of the Believe and Read program on the reading skills of our students. More details will be shared in the spring of 2023 after completing our 2nd year in the program.
All students who participate in Believe and Read will benefit — struggling readers become proficient, and good readers become great ones!
How Believe and Read works:
- Literacy coaches from Groves Academy will work with our teachers (K-2 in 2021-22, and K-3 starting 2022-23) over a three-year period using a “train the trainer” model.
- In addition to building students’ vocabulary and comprehension skills through their regular reading lesson, teachers will incorporate a daily 30-minute phonics-based lesson to ensure students are grasping the reading rules they’ll need to achieve fluency.
- Many of the lesson plans are scripted, so teachers will know exactly how and when to introduce each letter, along with its sounds, and how to build up to words from there.
- These lessons use a multi-sensory approach that explicitly teaches the connections between letters and sounds.
- Our teachers will get weekly support and feedback from their literacy coach, along with assistance in tracking student progress through routine assessments.
For more information, please reach out to Principal Mrs. Hamill:
khamill@mqpcatholic.org
763-428-2355
