The COVID-19 global pandemic caused the education world to shift to distance learning. Before then, technology usage in the classroom showed minimal implementation and surfaced level approaches. The shift to distance learning caused students to rely on parents and their home environment to continue learning. For many students, this expands…

Although there is a large body of research on effective early reading instructional practices, schools continue to implement instruction and intervention that is not aligned to the science. Over the past 25 years, a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework has emerged as a leading framework for advancing the reading skill development of…

Future Forward is an early primary literacy program that pairs one-on-one tutoring with family engagement. The approach of Future Forward is informed by both systems theory and a school-family-community partnership model. With its school-family-community partnership approach, schools are not solely responsible for developing student literacy.…

Research supports the efficacy of intensive literacy instruction for children with moderate intellectual disabilities and Down syndrome (DS). However, much of the literature features measures closely aligned with evaluated interventions. Despite their increasing role in instruction, curriculum-based measures (CBM) are rarely featured in reading…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine what impact volunteer tutoring has on improving the reading standardized test scores of K-2nd elementarystudents in East Baton Rouge Parish public schools. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression was conducted to analyze the extent in which Volunteers in Public Schools' (VIPS)…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine whether the supplemental phonics program, Fundations, improved reading skills over time. Ehri's theory of orthographic mapping served as the theoretical framework for this study. Archival data from 254 second grade students who did, or did not, participate in the…

In-person tutoring has been shown to improve academic achievement. Though less well-researched, virtual tutoring has also shown a positive effect on achievement but has only been studied in grade five or above. We present findings from the first randomized controlled trial of virtual tutoring for young children (grades K-2). Students were assigned…

The Charlotte Bilingual Preschool (CltBP), situated in the 17th largest urban area of the US, has found itself at the intersection of its community's agendas to provide high quality preschool services to Spanish-speaking families, improve opportunities for upward mobility, and foster literacy gains for children from birth through third grade. This…

One relatively low-cost mechanism to assist teachers serving many English learner (EL) students and struggling readers is to hire, train, and manage paraprofessionals to provide supplementary instruction to such students. This study evaluated a program in which one district provided instructional aides to all first-grade teachers in the…

The use of online literacy applications is proliferating in elementary classrooms. Using data generated by these applications is assumed to be helpful for teachers to identify struggling readers. Unfortunately, many teachers are unsure how to use and interpret the plethora of data from these apps. In this longitudinal study, we followed a cohort…

This study was part of a larger longitudinal study in which we focused on measuring reading acquisition and observing the impact of SES, curriculum and gender on reading subtest scores. In Part 1 of our study (in review), we reported on findings for students in Grade 1. For Part 2 of our study, we report on our findings for students in Grades 3…

Over the past eight years, through examinations of school-administered reading assessments, Springboard has demonstrated internally that the average Springboard Summer scholar improves in reading during the program. Several partner school districts have compared Springboard scholars to their non-participating counterparts and found that, on…

Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders face unique challenges in the classroom that are often not addressed in teacher preparation, which may result in diminished outcomes for teachers and students. The Integrated Literacy Study Groups professional development was designed to support the needs of teachers of students with or…

Teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders face unique challenges in the classroom that are often not addressed in teacher preparation, which may result in diminished outcomes for teachers and students. The Integrated Literacy Study Groups professional development was designed to support the needs of teachers of students with or…

In this study, we investigated the predictive value of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) measures for performance on a high-stakes reading assessment at the end of third grade. DIBELS measures were administered to students at the end of third grade, around the same time as their high-stakes tests. Collectively, the…