Our goal: No less than all students reading on grade level
Our goal: No less than all students reading on grade level
Our goal: No less than all students reading on grade levelOur goal: No less than all students reading on grade levelOur goal: No less than all students reading on grade levelOne student,
one afterschool program,
one school at a time.
WE CAN DO THIS!
All children have an innate curiosity to explore and discover. Our role is to teach in a manner that works with their nature. When we do this, the seed that was planted blooms and flourishs without effort.
The Situation
In Alachua County, Florida, despite being an “A“ rated school district with professional, skilled, dedicated and hard working teachers and administrators, we face a crisis in reading literacy that has ripple effects across subject areas.
Children of all races who live in poverty, as well as Black and Hispanic children are not reading and achieving as well as their more affluent classmates.
The achievement gap is particularly stark when looking at race. In our school district the disparity between white and black students is greater than the average in the state of Florida - by 9 percentage points.
This crisis is not limited to our county or our state but is faced by school districts all over our country.
We decided that we wanted and needed to be part of a solution.
Read To Win was created to be part of that solution.
Scores
Did you know that here in the Alachua School District we have the widest achievement gap of any district in the state?
Florida Standards Assessment, English Language Arts
3rd graders - 2018-19
Alachua School District
57% scored 3 or higher
77.4% of White 3rd graders scored a 3 or higher
31.6% of Black 3rd graders scored a 3 or higher
This represents a 45.8% achievement gap.
In contrast, Florida as a whole has a 29% achievement gap.
A similar trend continues in the higher grades, including into high school, and across the subjects.
Data from Florida Department of Education
Our Schools
While a number of elementary schools in Alachua County perform well, we still have an appreciable number that do not. In some schools the total number of third graders (without accounting for race) scoring at a 3 or higher on the Florida Standards Assessment in English Language Arts are shockingly low:
Percentage of 3rd Graders Scoring 3 or higher at the following schools
23% at Lake Forest Elementary School
29% at W.A. Metcalfe Elementary School
32% at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Elementary School
38% at Idylewild Elementary School
In comparison:
57% of 3rd Graders in Alachua School District score 3 or higher
All four of the above schools have an enrollment that is categorized as 100% economically disadvantaged
and are 80 - 100% minority students.
Genesis Preparatory School, a local Charter School has 72.7% of its Black students performing at 3 or higher!
Of note: this school score of 72.7% is 15.7 percentage points higher than the District’s score and approaches the District’s score for White students (77.4%)
.
Even more startling is the achievement gap between white and black children at some of our schools.
J.J. Finley Elementary School - 58% Achievement Gap
Joseph Williams Elementary School - 84% Achievement Gap
Lincoln Middle School - 70% Achievement Gap
Eastside High School - 69% Achievement Gap
This is contrast to the state of Florida where the Achievement Gap is around 30%.
It is also in contrast to some of the Charter Schools in Alachua School District:
One Room School House Project - 24% Achievement Gap
Micanopy Area Cooperative School - 13% Achievement Gap
Boulware Springs Charter School - 23% Achievement Gap
These numbers tell us that ALL children of all races can succeed in our district.
Data from Florida Department of Education
Why We Do What We Do
Born of the need to address this tragic reality of the achievement gap for children of color and for children who live in poverty, we bring together a highly effective and efficient reading tool, literacy expertise, and many committed hearts and minds.
We offer our services to afterschool and out of school programs by training providers in reading remediation. At the same time, we will help set up monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure success.
We also seek to work directly with students in Alachua County Public Schools, to help ensure that all students are reading on grade level, through reading remediation and through helping new and emerging readers establish a strong foundation in reading skills.
We must do better for all of our students.
How We Do What We Do
Phono-Graphix is a tried and true method to teach reading in twelve modules. It is unsurpassed in it’s ability to successfully remediate students, including those with dyslexia, English as a second language, and older students. This tool can be used for one on one instruction, in small groups and for the classroom.
In various studies, Phono-Graphix has been shown to be 98% effective.
We use Phono-Graphix to remediate students of all ages and abilities.
We also use it to teach new and emerging readers.
Children are taught the nature of the code of the English language in 4 simple concepts and then given the 3 skills needed to use the code effectively and efficiently. Children are taught the code in a developmentally appropriate way that takes into account the nature of how children learn.
It is a powerful intervention method.
Just as importantly, we incorporate reading comprehension and vocabulary building in our reading program. Using reading materials that encourage growth in science, technology, mathematics, social studies, and the arts, children learn across subjects while gaining a solid foundation in reading that will serve them through the grades. Children who were followed after successful remediation using Phono-Graphix, were shown to maintain competency and did not need remediation in the future.
We Are A Trauma-Informed Organization
We are committed to being a trauma-informed initiative.
Read To Win will ensure our tutors are also trauma-informed so they may interact appropriately with children and parents in our program, with both compassion and understanding.
They will understand the role of trauma in development and in learning.
Training in trauma-informed care includes using sensory integration exercises to reduce fear, identifying and managing big emotions, and teaching ways to self-regulate. We will give tutors tools to build connections with children, empower them, and redirect them in an effort to provide healing and promoting appropriate behavior.
We are committed to having tutors who come from the communties we serve, and to having culturally relevant reading material.
With these efforts we enable space for trust, safety, and learning for all our children.
We can do this!
You, Our Neighbors And Friends, Do The Work To Bring Help To All Our Children
Read To Win is a true community effort.
The United Church of Gainesville and its Racial Justice Committee accepted the challenge to work to address the racial inequities in education that result in the large achievement gap in reading proficiency.
UCG is a registered not for profit church and serves as an incubator for Read To Win, with the goal of creating a stand-alone, not-for-profit entity that address literacy issues in Alachua County. In the past UCG incubated the Acorn Clinic, Peer Respite, and others. Read To Win is housed at UCG. We receive mail and have office and training facilities at UCG. UCG provides support staff and volunteers in this phase of our programing.
Read to Win does not have a religious nature.
All funds earmarked for this initiative will be used directly by Read to Win.
Volunteers make everything possible:
training tutors, tutoring students, writing grants, fundraising, developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems, providing support services
Children Need You To Be Part of Our Literacy Initiative
Do you want to learn more?
Are you looking for away to be part of the solution?
We need your help!
Come join us !
Our Community...
We are grateful for your incredible generosity!
We are currently working to establish our partnerships!
Our Out Of School Partners
