Fairfax School District Earns R.E.A.D. Award Honor
Zephyr Lane Elementary Partners with 95 Group to Improve Teacher Preparedness and K-3 Reading Achievement
Zephyr Lane Elementary in Bakersfield, CA was recently named as the 95 Percent Group R.E.A.D. Award winner for their outstanding K-3 reading achievement during the 2017-18 school year. This distinction is given to schools or districts that demonstrate instructional excellence and dedication, through the use of 95 Percent Group’s processes and products, to support struggling readers.
Susan Hall, Ed. D., Co-Founder and CEO, 95 Percent Group was on hand to make the presentation to Fairfax School District Superintendent Michael Coleman and former Zephyr Lane Principal Charley Clark, who now serves as the district’s Director of Programs. Dr. Hall acknowledged Zephyr Lane’s commitment at every level to implement a comprehensive intervention program that prepared teachers to effectively identify and address skill deficits and significantly improve student reading.
95 Percent Group Client Manager and Consultant Kim Dale, who worked most closely with Zephyr Lane during their initial implementation, shared the school’s success story.
“Three years ago, a small group Zephyr Lane administrators and teachers attended a 95 Percent Group workshop. At this training, they heard about a program that could show them how to teach 
kids to read in an explicit, systematic way. This group of educators went back to their school with a renewed passion and were dedicated to making it happen on their campus.
In just a few months, they secured funding, brought 95 Percent Group to their school, and started preparing teachers to effectively impact reading achievement,” remarked Dale.
95 Percent Group consultants initially worked with the Zephyr Lane administrators and K-3 staff members to roll out the intervention program.
“Kim’s approach with the staff was so incredible that we had 100% buy-in with her. I also asked her to conduct PD with the upper-grade level staff members because they needed to understand what the primary grades were doing. 95 Percent Group completely shifted the mindset for all teacher to help us get a better understanding of how the brain works and why students make the mistakes they make when learning to read. We continue to learn and grow with 95 Percent Group as our reading partner,” Clark added.
The gains in K-3 student DIBELS Composite and Critical Skill Measure Scores at Zephyr Lane Elementary, in the first year and a half, were so impressive that the 95 Percent Group intervention program was written into the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) bringing job-embedded professional development, diagnostic screeners, and instructional materials to all three of the district’s K-6 elementary schools.
Congratulations to all Fairfax students, teachers, and administrators! Click Fairfax School District Read Award Press Release for more information.
New MTSS Book by Susan Hall, Ed.D.
10 Success Factors for Literacy Intervention:
Getting Results with MTSS in Elementary Schools Available Now in our Web Store
In some schools MTSS/RTI is losing steam because other initiatives are consuming educators’ attention. Diverting focus away from MTSS is a mistake. A systemic approach to differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all students should be nonnegotiable. It’s not a fad, and it shouldn’t be pushed aside for something else that draws the staff’s attention.
One reason it may be easy to push aside MTSS is that although results have been outstanding in some schools, they have been negligible in too many others. The reason results have not been consistently strong is that in implementing MTSS, too many schools have left out critical components.
What are schools that are getting good results doing? When results are unimpressive, what’s missing?
Author and reading intervention expert Dr. Susan Hall answers these persistent questions in her publication, 10 Success Factors for Literacy Intervention: Getting Results with MTSS in Elementary Schools. Dr. Hall's experience in working with schools across the United States led to the development of a list of 10 success factors observable in schools that are getting significant gains in student literacy with MTSS.
The 10 Success Factors include:
1. Group by Skill Deficit
2. Use Diagnostic Assessments
3. Implement a Walk-to-Intervention Delivery Model
4. Monitor Progress with an Appropriate Assessment
5. Flood the Intervention Block with Extra Instructors
6. Use Intervention Time Wisely
7. Be Aware of What Makes Intervention Effective
8. Provide Teachers with Intervention Lesson Materials
9. Invest in Professional Development
10. Inspect What You Expect
Excerpted from 10 Success Factors for Literacy Intervention: Getting Results with MTSS in Elementary Schools, by Susan L. Hall, Ed.D, Copyright © 2018 ASCD. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
Join Dr. Hall as she thoroughly explores each of these ten initiatives and provides the guidance educators need to move from disappointing results to student reading success in this practical publication. Download this complimentary 8-page booklet to preview the 10 Success Factors or watch our on-demand 10 Success Factors webinar series.
Click here to order a copy of this publication from our web store.
The Road to Results Fall 2019 Workshops
Join us to Learn Practical Strategies to Accelerate Reading Achievement
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Thursday, October 24
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Wednesday, October 30
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2-5 Wednesday, December 4
Questions? Contact us at workshops@95percentgroup.com.