INTRODUCING REDWOOD TALKS - LIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE FIELD OF LITERACY. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY AS REDWOOD’S CEO, KAIT FERIANTE, INTERVIEWS Michael Rogers, Founder and Executive Director of Moving Everest Charter School.

THE PROBLEM

When we look at literacy skills across the United States, things appear bleak. Under the current model of literacy education, 21% of our adult population is illiterate. 54% of adults between 16 and 74 lack proficiency in literacy, with reading scores below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. These dismal literacy rates cost the U.S. $2.2 trillion each year. 

Throughout the country, 66% of children in fourth grade failed to meet basic reading proficiency metrics, making them almost four times more likely to drop out of high school than their literate peers. And research on the long-term impact of illiteracy shows that two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of fourth grade will not only fail to catch up to their peers; they’re also more likely to end up in prison or on welfare. 

There is a deeply concerning link between illiteracy and crime. According to the Department of Justice, “the link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure. Over 70% of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth-grade level.” Babies born into low-income families face exponentially more dire reading outcomes than more affluent children. A family’s socioeconomic status can determine a child’s future: almost 70% of low-income fourth-grade students cannot read at a basic level. This leads to an adult population struggling with unemployment – 50% of unemployed individuals are illiterate. Students who don’t acquire proficient literacy skills drop out of school at an alarming rate, costing the country $240 billion in social service expenditures and lost tax revenues. 

The United States has one of the most unequal education systems in the world, in which race and geography play a grossly outsized role in determining one’s ability to access adequate reading instruction. Further exacerbating these injustices, school districts across the country are staring down the abyss of a dramatic teacher shortage, especially within special education. Without highly trained teachers who are qualified to support the needs of struggling readers, children are stuck in a cycle of failure. 

A SOLUTION

The present reality is very far from where we want it, and the ramifications are heavy. But there is hope. There are hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals who are working hard to ensure that best-practice research is translated into implementation strategies, programs, and tools that teachers can use to serve students with learning differences, PTSD, and interrupted educational journeys. There are efforts to reward teachers with additional certifications and specialty training at no cost to them. We have literacy programs that are proven effective by research studies, and teams are working to translate that success into scalable models.

Redwood Literacy, an organization dedicated to providing best-in-class literacy remediation for students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it, is engaged in one of those new efforts. We’re collaborating with charter schools, a legal organization, and a trauma treatment center to provide virtual literacy instruction during the school day – an emerging model that’s shown to be effective, sustainable, and scalable. 

Redwood Literacy houses a team of literacy experts from various backgrounds who create exceptional programming from norm-referenced baseline assessments, ongoing progress monitoring and reporting, empathy-led instruction that’s driven by data, and intentional partnership with every client. No two intervention plans are identical – they’re customized based on factors such as student age, instructional starting point, student and school goals, community context, available resources, and time commitment. Redwood focuses on expert literacy intervention, relying on our school partners for expertise on the whole student. This collaborative effort ensures that the interventions are finely tuned to the unique needs and circumstances of each student, maximizing their potential for academic growth.

Let’s look at the program model at one specific school. Redwood and our Partner School formed a partnership in 2022 to address the needs of students lagging in reading skills through hybrid structured literacy intervention. This collaboration aims to leverage the combined expertise, training, and resources of both organizations to implement targeted strategies and support through specialized Wilson Reading System® and SPELL-Links™ interventions. The partnership aims to foster an environment where students can receive tailored assistance in an effort to catch up and excel in their reading proficiency and self-efficacy skills. By combining forces, Redwood and our Partner School seek to create a more impactful and comprehensive approach to literacy education, ultimately enhancing the students’ academic success.

Our Partner School Classroom offers high-dosage literacy intervention through virtual small group sessions and targeted in-person support four days a week. Redwood's literacy interventionists are highly trained and certified in Wilson Reading System® or SPELL-Links™ to skillfully implement the programming.

Redwood's on-site manager provides individualized in-person remediation and behavior management, establishes classroom norms, cultivates classroom culture, supports attendance and participation, and models lessons for our Partner School paraprofessionals. 

These 75-minute intervention sessions not only target fundamental literacy skills, they also incorporate social-emotional learning elements to foster self-efficacy and executive function skills. This comprehensive approach underscores the commitment to addressing both academic and socio-emotional aspects, providing a well-rounded foundation for the student’s overall development. The ongoing progress monitoring and benchmark data inform instruction and drive individualized goals, including IEP goal writing and tracking. Redwood remains steadfast in its dedication to fostering both academic achievement and personal growth in each student.

HOW DO WE KNOW IT’S WORKING?

In an era where responding to data on an ongoing basis is vital to program success, Redwood uses multiple measures to ensure that what we are doing for each student is working. Not every student responds to every curriculum or approach, so Redwood is intentional about building out an instructor team that houses multiple curricula and specializations to ensure that we can meet every student’s need. For example, one of our Partner School's 8th graders made nearly 3 years of reading growth (progressing from a 1st-grade level to a 4th-grade level as measured by the NWEA test) in less than a year after Redwood and the Partner Schools identified that he needed a different approach than his peers.

While Redwood provides a more comprehensive report at the end of each school year that outlines all the measures we use to track progress and an analysis of the progress made, here are a few mid-year statistics captured by DIBELS and NWEA, both norm-referenced measures from this current school year.

On average, the 4th-6th graders participating in Redwood’s program made .83 years of growth as measured by the NWEA test from the beginning of the school year to the middle of the school year. This shows that these students are on track to catch up. 

As evidenced by the graphs above, 100% of the 4th-6th graders participating in Redwood’s program made progress in both oral reading fluency and reading accuracy. Oral reading fluency can only be moved as reading accuracy improves. As the brain learns how to decode individual words automatically, a student’s oral reading fluency, which is a mixture of rate, accuracy, and cadence, also improves. While these fluency scores are still a ways off from the grade-level benchmark, the concrete progress shows that the intervention is working and that these students are on the right path to reaching fluency benchmarks that no longer impede their ability to understand what they are reading. As students receive explicit decoding instruction combined with assistive technology support, their accuracy in reading tends to improve. Research supports that reaching 96% accuracy is the minimal threshold for complete comprehension which is the ultimate goal of reading. 

This graph highlights how our Partner School students are performing in their growth compared to other peers nationwide who are starting at a similar baseline and are also the same age. In the first column, we see that overall 40% of our Partner School’s students are making average or above-average growth compared to peers nationwide who are similar ages and starting at a similar baseline. This is a really exciting number to see, and one we want to see every Partner School student achieve as it demonstrates that students are making the rate of progress they need to close the gap in their literacy skills. 6th graders specifically are outperforming their peers nationwide in how quickly they are closing the cap. For 4th and 5th grade, though only 25-28% of Partner School students are progressing at a rate that meets or exceeds their peers, it’s important to note that 100% of Partner School students participating in this program have IEPs with identified learning differences. The national norms that these students are being compared to do not all have identified learning disabilities. They are starting at a similar baseline, but as we know, students can start a school year significantly behind their peers in their academic achievement without having a learning disability, and those students tend to respond to intervention faster. 

Redwood’s goal for our partnership with any Partner School is for every student to make significant academic progress as measured by multiple norm-referenced and skills-based assessments. We are accomplishing that goal as middle-of-year data showed that 100% of students made an average of 50 points of growth as measured by the composite DIBELS score. Our next goal is that 100% of our Partner School’s students will be out-pacing their peers in their rate of growth. We are confident that with continued funding and collaboration, we can accomplish this goal by the middle of next school year, especially if we can continue with these same students through the summer. If they take the summer off, there will be significant regression that will need to be made up during the first 25-30% of the 2024-2025 school year. When working with Tier 3 kids, intervention must continue consistently until students have foundational independent literacy skills that allow them access to the rest of their education and future profession.

Program Costs

This partnership was funded using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds (ESSR), which will no longer be available. We propose the following model to sustain Redwood interventions at Partner Schools. The cost of Redwood’s services can be taken directly from school budgets, specifically from professional development and payroll categories. In addition, the program can be supplemented with donated funds and grant funds that allow the school to get the program up and running, including purchasing technology and curriculum materials. Redwood hires and trains certified learning behavior specialists who can legally deliver IEP minutes for public and charter school students. Redwood handles the cost of training and certifications and ongoing instructional coaching to ensure teaching continues to improve over time. See the sample budget below:

COLLABORATION + SUSTAINABILITY = RESULTS

Though this sample budget will need to be modified for each individual partner, it illustrates that if we shift our thinking and adopt a new approach to literacy remediation (which, the data shows, is vital), amazing results can be achieved. It was once assumed that every school needed to house its own literacy specialty team, but that takes years to build and a lot of money, and that model is always at high risk of staff turnover, which starts the process over again. Alternatively, schools with allocated funding can partner with an organization like Redwood whose sole focus is literacy remediation. These collaborations will be the most sustainable, powerful way to make The United States a literate nation. Outsourcing intensive intervention instruction for Tier-3 students is an important step schools can take to ensure that every student gets what they need to be set up for success. The vast majority of public, charter, and even private schools, unless they are specialized in working with students with learning disabilities, are not able to house an effective in-house program for students who significantly struggle. Using funds in their school budget allocated for specialized instructors partnered with grant funding, schools can hire expert intervention providers whose sole purpose is to recruit, hire, train, and support specialized interventionists from all over the country to provide expert and effective instruction during the school day. 

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY IS VITAL FOR TIER-3 STUDENTS

Redwood Literacy works closely with school partners to integrate Assistive Technology (AT) seamlessly into their programming, ensuring that students with diverse learning needs receive the support they need to excel academically. AT encompasses a variety of tools and resources designed to assist students in reading, writing, and engaging in various school activities. These tools allow students to work at a level that aligns with their cognitive abilities rather than being limited by their reading or spelling challenges. 

Text-to-speech software, which reads text aloud to students, enables them to access content independently and comprehend complex material, while speech-to-text technology allows students to dictate their thoughts and ideas verbally. Assistive Technology is not a crutch, but rather a means to empower students to close learning gaps and become more confident learners. 

CRUCIAL COMPONENTS OF THE MODEL

Multiple years of collaboration to build a streamlined partnership. This requires rapport, lots of communication, troubleshooting, and creative thinking. Redwood recommends three to five years of initial partnership with each school to remediate every student who cannot read independently. During that time, we collaboratively build a high-impact literacy program for all students, which reduces the number of students who need ongoing support. From there, Redwood can continue in small doses to support students who need continued specialized instruction – about 10-15% of the school. 

1. Weekly communication between Redwood and the school partner has proven critical for program success. There must be a point person from each organization to ensure key members from both sides are at the right meetings and involved in the right conversations to creatively troubleshoot challenges and decide together how to best individualize support for students.

2. Flexibility and optimistic creativity have proven crucial components of a successful partnership. Open-mindedness, curiosity, and agility are necessary to pivot quickly when needed, responding to the unique needs of each student. 

3. Expert instruction with ongoing instructional coaching is the not-so-secret sauce of effective literacy instruction. Teaching reading and writing skills to any student, especially students with learning disabilities is no small thing. While we believe that teachers can start working with students with just a few days of training under their belts, ongoing instructional coaching, live observations with feedback, and regular collaboration with other literacy interventionists are crucial to lasting success.

4. A variety of tools in the toolbelt allows Redwood to personalize instruction according to what each student needs. Our instructors are experts in Spell Links™, Wilson Writing System®, assistive technology, and our own written expression curriculum (Writing Our World™). 

5. Weekly data collection and monthly progress monitoring help instructors gauge student progress over time and make comparisons to grade-level peers. Data analysis informs decisions about intervention proficiency and helps drive goals for students with IEPs to ultimately close the reading gap. 

6. Assistive technology instruction and applied practice are essential for leveling the playing field, allowing all students to access text with confidence and independence. Assistive technology ultimately equips Tier-3 students with the skills they need to pursue the careers they’re drawn to. 

At the beginning of a partnership, Redwood conducts a comprehensive assessment of the school's existing literacy support framework, identifying areas of strength as well as gaps where additional support is needed. This gives us valuable insights into the specific needs of each student and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the overall literacy landscape within the school community.

From there, the school provides Redwood with a list of student names, IEPs, and current daily schedules. Redwood provides individual placement consultations for each student and then groups students according to their age, instructional level, and daily schedule parameters.

Next, Redwood Literacy works closely with the school leadership team to select and implement a variety of tools and interventions tailored to meet the specific needs of the student population. The partnership emphasizes ongoing collaboration and communication between Redwood Literacy specialists and school staff to ensure the effective implementation of the chosen curriculum, including training and professional development for educators. Redwood provides monthly updates for each student, reporting on progress, current roadblocks, and Redwood’s response to the student’s progression. At the end of every year, Redwood provides a comprehensive report that outlines summative growth across grade bands and includes norm-referenced data to compare how the schools’ students are progressing compared to peers all over the country.

REASONS TO BE HOPEFUL

When we confront the troubling literacy statistics in our country, it's natural to feel a mix of outrage and hopelessness. Outrage is a valid response to the injustice of literacy inequality, but succumbing to hopelessness doesn't benefit our students. Instead, let's embrace both outrage and hope. Let's approach the issue with compassion, curiosity, and collaboration. We all desire to see Tier-3 students read independently, excel in school, and flourish beyond the classroom. However, traditional approaches often fall short, with many school districts needing more resources to adequately address the needs of struggling learners. But a new model is emerging.

School partnerships represent a fresh approach. By joining forces, schools and organizations collectively pursue a common objective: improving student literacy outcomes. The success of these district partnerships underscores the power of collaboration in achieving meaningful progress.

At Redwood, we're proud to deliver this innovative model. Working with public and charter schools, we provide direct support tailored to each school's unique goals. We are deeply committed to flexibility, excellence, optimism, data-driven decision-making, transparency, and unwavering determination to ensure every student thrives.

Interested in partnering with Redwood? Reach out to Jillian Patten, Director of Partnerships, at jillian@redwoodliteracy.com or 773-309-4524.

Sources: 

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), www.begintoread.com, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov), Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, edpolicy.stanford.edu, National Literacy Institute