WS/FCS literacy coaches and reading tutors are improving student outcomes

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools aims to have 90% of 3rd grade students proficient in reading by 2025. 

The most recent end-of-grade testing data shows that the district is about halfway there, with 45% of students reading on grade level. That’s a slight increase from the year before, and district officials say two recent initiatives are helping. 

One is the implementation of 23 literacy coaches in schools with the greatest needs. At a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Martitia Ervin spoke about the work she did as a coach at Ashley Elementary. 

“I was able to provide literacy instructions to small groups of students, and provide one-on-one coaching sessions for teachers, which included anything from classroom management, best literacy practices, to understanding data and creating lessons based on the data," Ervin said. 

Ashley Elementary was removed from the low-performing school list this year after exceeding expectations around student growth. Principal Anita Hooker said the literacy coaches played a critical role in improving outcomes.

“We saw the greatest gains from our teachers, around their capacity and literacy knowledge, which definitely transferred over into our scholars, which again, is why we got such great results," Hooker said.

District officials also highlighted the Reading Warriors program, where trained volunteers tutor a kindergarten or first grade student twice a week. During public comment, Teri Nelson spoke about her experience as a volunteer. 

“It is a gift to have one-on-one time to tutor a child because it's easier to build a relationship with them, and you can focus all of your teaching on that one child," Nelson said. "Being a Reading Warrior is truly one of the highlights of my week."

District officials are looking to recruit more volunteers in order to reach their goal of serving 700 to 800 students by the end of the school year. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.