Moving On Up!
Posted by
Jacob Mnookin:
Thursday, October 08, 2009
In working with Coney Island Prep students, there are so
many moments throughout the day that make me feel lucky to work at this
school.
There’s one particular
moment that happened recently that I want to share with you.
We have a diverse student population in every sense of the
word.
Our students have varied
ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, and also range widely in their
current levels of academic proficiency.
In reading, for example, there are several students who read far above
grade level and a number of students who came to us as non-readers.
Our reading program is centered around a balanced literacy program that utilizes Fountas and Pinnell's reading levels. In this program, students' reading levels are diagnosed and assigned a ltter from A-Z. Level A roughly corresponds with a Kindergarten reading level, while a level Z is approximately 7th grade.
One particular student came to us reading at level D, which equivalent to a very early 1st grade reading level. After four weeks of incredibly hard
work at Coney Island Prep, this student moved from a level D to a level I—five
whole levels in four short weeks.
That is equivalent to almost a whole year of reading growth in just one
month. That in and of itself is quite an accomplishment, and one
that speaks to the hard work of both the scholar and the entire staff,
particularly Ms. Cornelison,
our
reading teacher, and Ms. Uva, our Student Supports Coordinator.
The highlight for me, however, came when this scholar’s
achievement was announced in the hallway during a transition from one class to
the next.
Our students stand in
straight, silent lines as they wait to enter their next class.
While they were waiting, Ms. Uva
announced the achievement of that scholar.
The whole school broke out in applause, and as the scholar
made his way to the back of his line, a classmate of his held out his hand to
offer a high-five, and with a huge grin on his face said, “Great job!”
All of the students were proud of the scholar and his
academic achievement. They had one more real-world example that hard work
begets academic achievement, and that nothing is impossible.
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