Instituting Purpose

Miss. Implements Science-Based Reading Methodology With Marked Success

This school year, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) began recognizing schools across the state that use literacy strategies based in the science of reading methodology. The fall celebrations of Science of Reading schools marked the importance of the state’s continued efforts to incorporate research that cognitive and linguistic scientists have long demonstrated effectively teach children how to read.

So far, Falkner Elementary (North Tippah School District), Franklin Academy (Columbus Municipal School District), Magnolia Park Elementary (Ocean Springs School District), Poplarville Lower Elementary (Poplarville School District), Purvis Lower Elementary (Lamar County School District), Tate County Elementary (Tate County School District) and Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary (Starkville Oktibbeha School District) have all been named Science of Reading schools by the MDE for their use of research-based methods to help all students learn to read.

“Mississippi has become a national leader in literacy because our children have made more progress in reading in recent years than any other state,” said Dr. Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education. “Mississippi educators have committed themselves to providing instruction aligned to the science of reading so students can build the literacy skills they need to succeed throughout their education.”

Data corroborates Wright’s assertion; Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI) Chief Executive Officer Kelly Butler said Mississippi implemented strategies that were researched by BRI since 2000 to great success.

“Mississippi took the top-down approach, providing $15 million from the legislature to ensure every school received a single-format professional development and coaching model that, once implemented on the local level, lifted the state off the bottom. Every school had to use methods based in literacy and cognitive research,” Butler said. “Within 18 months, kids were reading. It has made Mississippi a place to watch. We were the only state to show growth during the first year of using this methodology statewide.” It is estimated about 50% of students can learn to read using any method of teaching, but the other half need science-based, research-proven methods to become successful readers. The science behind teaching children to read has increasingly moved to the forefront nationally, so MDE administrators began recognizing schools for being Science of Reading schools this year after they began offering a variety of

training opportunities to educators and schools to help them incorporate the body of Science of Reading knowledge into their own practices. “We offer training free to Mississippi educators grounded in the Science of Reading called Language Essentials for Teaching Reading and Spelling (LETRS) Training. Initially, we began offering this “Reading is an education and training to educators in the spring of economic issue. Children who are 2014, shortly after the passing of our not reading proficiently in third early literacy policy, the Literacy-Based grade are four times more likely to Promotion Act,” said Kristen Wynn, the state literacy director at the MDE Office not graduate high school.” of Elementary Education and Reading. - Kristen Wynn, state literacy director The primary goal of incorporating scientific strategies into reading education is to improve students’ job prospects upon graduation, which in turn helps Mississippi’s economy. Research proves early literacy indicators can predict whether a student will be successfully employed at a high-skill, high-wage job as an adult. “Reading is an education and economic issue. Children who are not reading proficiently in third grade are

State and school officials are pictured at a ceremony recognizing East Tate Elementary’s (Tate County School District) status as a Science of Reading school.

Franklin Academy’s (Columbus Municipal School District) sidewalk entrance welcomes early readers.

Falkner Elementary (North Tippah School District) staff were thrilled to be recognized as a Science of Reading school.

Curious about

Science of Reading?

For additional information, Barksdale Reading Institute Chief Executive Officer Kelly Butler recommends these resources for further information on the methodology:

Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read?

https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2018/09/10/hard-words-whyamerican-kids-arent-being-taught-to-read

What the Words Say (Educate Podcast episode)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-words-say/ id81914987?i=1000487274272

The Perfect Storm: Mississippi’s Momentum for Improving Reading Achievement

https://excelined.org/2020/09/01/the-reading-league-journal-the-perfectstorm-mississippis-momentum-for-improving-reading-achievement/

There is a Right Way to Teach Reading and Mississippi Knows It

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/opinion/mississippi-schools-naep.html four times more likely to not graduate high school,” Wynn said.

These missed opportunities devastatingly affect Mississippi’s minority populations: “African American and Hispanic students who are not reading proficiently in third grade are six times more likely to drop out of high school. Seven out of every 10 prison inmates can’t read above a fourth-grade level. Economically, high school dropouts are not eligible for 90% of the jobs in the economy, they make up 50% of all heads of households on welfare and, typically, their yearly earnings are more than 50% less than that of someone who earns a bachelor’s degree,” Wynn said.

LETRS training is not MDE’s only plan of attack on Mississippi’s literacy problem. Wynn noted her office also hosts statewide literacy nights to provide resources to families that will help their students improve their reading skills. The office also maintains a website (strongreadersms.com) designed specifically for parents.

“[The website’s suggested activities] can be done at home with common household items,” Wynn said.

The MDE’s efforts also incorporate Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s Classroom TV, which is available over the air to a large percentage of residents.

“[It] features 250 interactive structured literacy lessons for students that are taught by MDE literacy coaches and content-area experts from across the state,” Wynn said.

Butler encourages parents to stay involved with their student’s literacy by asking teachers questions, helping children with phonics and asking teachers for things to do with children at home to encourage continued learning.

School districts and educators interested in LETRS training and becoming a recognized Science of Reading school can contact MDE’s Office of Early Education and Literacy at 601.359.2586.

Additional resources for educators are available on MDE’s literacy webpage at mdek12.org/literacy.

Purvis Elementary students celebrate their school’s achievement at a Science of Reading ceremony. State officials, teachers and students pictured at a ceremony recognizing Franklin Academy as a Science of Reading school.

Hudson Supports Her Community Through Outreach

Will Graves

For Aleesha Hudson, the Mississippi Department of Education’s 2021 Parent of the Year, supporting her community helps her improve the place where she was raised.

Hudson — a Hinds County resident, 1998 graduate of Raymond High School (RHS) and the mother of Brandon (ninth grade) and Alison (fifth grade) — was recognized by the department for her involvement in the Hinds County School District (HCSD) and her desire to better her community through the establishment of a community resource foundation and by providing scholarship funds for HCSD students.

“It’s very important for me to support where I can, because I came from Raymond,” Hudson said. “I [live here], and I feel like this area raised and poured into me as an individual, which definitely provided a foundation for me.”

Hudson is a graduate of Jackson State and Belhaven universities, and some of her biggest community projects bring scholarship opportunities to students. She spearheaded two plans to start endowment and scholarship funds and met fundraising goals within one year. After being selected as 2021 Mississippi Parent of the Year, Hudson’s nonprofit Community Resource Foundation provided $5,000 in scholarships to HCSD students.

The reach of Hudson’s foundation goes far beyond student scholarships — its primary goal is to connect the rural community with a variety of resources. The foundation hosts workshops and seminars, and it assists with local food drives and giveaways. The organization stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide masks, hand sanitizer Left: Retired Principal Kimberly Davenport (left) presents Hudson with the Hinds County School District (HCSD) Parent of the Year Award in 2021. Right: (From left to right) Davenport, HCSD Board of Trustees member Kayla Banger and Hudson pose at a school supply and bookbag giveaway event.

and other basic needs, and students benefit from backpack and school supply giveaways.

“During the COVID-19 season, a lot of organizations were out providing those resources in the Jackson area,” Hudson said. “When I would ask when organizations would be coming out to rural areas, I was told there was no one to help coordinate those activities in those areas. So, I took that on as my charge to help those larger organizations I may have connections with, to coordinate some of their service activities or projects in rural communities.”

Passion for community helped get Hudson where she is now, and with two children in the HCSD, she knows how important it is to give back to the local schools — because of how vital they are to the community. HCSD Associate Superintendent Dr. John Neal said Hudson’s volunteer service and love of giving back to her school and community go all the way back to her time a student at RHS.

“Hudson has really been trooper for us,” Neal said. “She is the product of the HCSD, and she has always volunteered, even when she was in high school. I think that foundation is what carried over in her life in terms of assisting and supporting for the community. She’s engaging with the students, she attends many school events and she has helped give away school supplies to the entire Jackson metropolitan area.”

Neal said Hudson’s community service and involvement with her children’s school district allowed her the opportunity to serve in the superintendent’s Parent Engagement Network, which keeps her at the heart of community and school outreach.

“Hudson serves on a parent committee that discusses concerns and support that can be provided to our schools, and then they take that information back out into the community to reach all parents. The committee also serves as a vessel that can carry information from the community back to our superintendent,” he said. “It has been an excellent partnership working with Hudson, and it is evident she loves giving back to her community.”

Research shows parental involvement is a vital component of the academic success of students. The MDE’s Parent of the Year program annually recognizes outstanding parents who have significantly impacted improvement efforts in their local school district.

MDE to Provide Resources for Improved Middle School Advancement

Heather Craig

This year, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) released the Middle School Transition Toolkit, a collection of resources designed to bridge the leaps from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school.

The toolkit is MDE’s latest effort to offer teachers, counselors, parents and students resources that draw together the roadmaps already available to them, from social emotional learning (SEL) standards to scaffolding and the Access for All Guide 2.0.

The document is designed to support students from all walks of life, helping foster success in the middle years of their education. It is divided into five categories, each of which contains several recommended activities to assist with middle school transition: communication, culture, instruction, family engagement and SEL. Activities range from student-led conferences about academic progress and parent academies to community walks

and pass-the-torch meetings. It also offers proven ways of creating a consistent communication plan for school districts and student bodies. “The toolkit helps everyone follow the same roadmap by pointing them to the same resources and “Imagine you’re a new administrator language. This toolkit serves to build a bridge trying to get to know staff, students between the islands of and improve culture. There are elementary, middle and activities in there to help you high school,” said Cindy hit the ground running toward success.” Ming, a Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit project - Dr. Marla Davis, manager who coauthored associate superintendent, academic liaison the toolkit. MDE officials and contractors from across the state put years of effort into creating superior early elementary and high school resources that prepare students for their next steps by modeling consistent terminology that assists teachers in communicating with students about what they have learned and building on what students have already mastered. The toolkit is the final piece that will bolster students’ transitions through every grade.

“We’ve all heard a teacher or administrator say, ‘They didn’t teach you anything at [the previous grade or school].’ That is not a problem of the previous teacher, administrator or the student. It’s a problem of terminology and communication. That is the thinking we are striving to correct with the toolkit by providing resources to help people at all levels of a student’s education speak the same language and have similar expectations for the student,” Ming said.

Dr. Marla Davis, the state’s associate superintendent, academic liaison, said MDE administrators do not want teachers to see the toolkit as simply “something else and something new.”

“[It] helps teachers connect how all the resources that are already available work together,” she said. “It’s not a directive, but we hope it will be used and we plan to offer plenty of support for those who do.”

All suggestions the toolkit offers are research-based and proven to help transition students to and from middle school, Ming said, and authors welcome feedback and insights into what works and does not work so the activities and suggestions can remain relevant.

“As part of the review team, we were tasked to vet the strategies and resources that were proposed by the teachers and leaders on the writing team. We were able to offer a few additions based on our work across the country. However, most of the strategies that are in the toolkit come from schools right here in Mississippi,” said Bob Stokes, a Southern Regional Education Board representative who advised MDE during the process of researching appropriate suggestions for the toolkit.

Davis said she wants the toolkit to be a living document and explained that even the acknowledgments page is designed to serve as a map for teachers to reach out to other educators and administrators in the state, as it is formatted with photos marking the contributors’ school districts and their professional roles.

“It’s not all-inclusive at this point, but it is going to help,” she said. “The toolkit’s users can help us make it more and more helpful to others by sharing with us what works for them.”

Davis is particularly excited that every true middle school in the state will receive a hardbound color copy of the toolkit. These copies were scheduled to arrive at schools this spring. MDE plans to begin in-person training in support of the toolkit’s resources in the coming academic year. “Imagine you’re a new administrator trying to get to know staff, students and improve culture,” Davis said. “There are activities in there to help you hit the ground running toward success.”

“I see this as building on the success the state has had with elementary grades. This toolkit will support middle schools in similar endeavors,” Stokes added.

Dr. Davis Ming Stokes