Collaboration is at the heart of many innovative efforts. In 2013, superintendents from all over West Michigan first came together at a regional meeting and agreed that while they may compete on the football field, they were no longer going to compete when it came to the reading success of children. So, they asked themselves, what would it look like if schools truly collaborated in this one area?
“We started with literacy because everyone understands its importance and how it impacts the future lives of children. Whether you’re a
parent, an educator, or a business leader, there’s a universal understanding that literacy is the key to our future success as a region and as a society,”said Kyle Mayer, Assistant Superintendent at the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District. “Literacy was the first issue that we could replace competition with collaboration.”
The Reading Now Network formed out of this collaboration and is now comprised of more than 20 West Michigan counties working together to ensure that a minimum of 80% of children reach their third-grade reading milestone. For the other 20% who might require more time and resources due to developmental differences, intervention strategies will be systemically implemented.
In 2018, the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District was awarded $50,000 over two years from our Community’s Endowment to accelerate and expand the impact of the Reading Now Network in West Michigan through real-time learning and evaluation.
Reading Now Network’s impact is rooted in the recognition that although there is a strong correlation between high free reduced lunch rates and lower reading proficiency scores, there are many schools that are “beating the odds” with the population they serve, while others are underperforming based on the population they serve. Some are doing far better – or far worse – than peer schools with similar student demographics. The Reading Now Network has rigorously examined what those schools that were “beating the odds” on third grade reading were doing differently.
After extensive on-site field studies, five key practices emerged across schools with a wide variety of student demographics that were outperforming their peers:
Uncompromising Focus: Everything Revolves around Reading
Relevant Data Used Deeply
Sustained Commitment
Classroom Management Focused on Learning
Collective Responsibility for Every Child’s Success
Several underperforming schools in the Reading Now Network realized significant gains in their third-grade reading proficiency after implementing these practices and the Essential Practices in Literacy, published by Michigan’s Association for Intermediate School Districts. Schools also agreed to share expert staff across district lines. Thousands of days of literacy expertise have been shared with and
among schools. For the first time, literacy coaches and people who are deeply aware of the Literacy Essentials have opportunities to offer support across the broader network.
“The gains that our children are beginning to make are inspiring. Scores have gone up in many schools and that is encouraging,” Mayer said. “We are only beginning to realize the difference we can make for children when we replace competition with collaboration. We have a lot of work remaining to do and I am optimistic for what the future holds for our growing Network.”
In addition to sharing data and resources, schools of the Reading Now Network participate in Instructional Rounds. Teachers are brought into the process and share what they see is working in their classrooms and where they see opportunities for improvement. Classrooms are then observed in action before the Reading Now Network team recommends specific changes in practice and support options.
“When it’s all said and done, the teachers and the administrators of the Reading Now Network will come to a mutual agreement on what is the most important work that has to happen in the school to lift literacy for children,” Mayer explained. “And if the teachers are not excited about the recommendations, we’re not going to do it. They get a vote. We treat teachers like the experts and professionals that they are.”
Instructional rounds have been performed in over 150 school buildings in our region. Not only are reading scores improving, teachers are also feeling empowered by the knowledge and tools Reading Now Network provides and energized by the improved outcomes for their students. The Reading Now Network has brought new insight and understanding to how schools can best support students’
learning to reach their third-grade reading goals. Given the strength of the initial results and the momentum the initiative has with local schools, the Developmental Evaluation model is uniquely well suited to help the Reading Now Network maximize the impact of its work for schools and students.
Originally featured in CFHZ’s Winter 2019 Newsletter.