School-wide literacy instructional methods

With our push for school-wide literacy instructional methods, Kindle Farm now has designated literacy specialists for both of our campuses. Literacy team members Cameron Lloyd, Monica Sullivan, and Miriam Schuldenfrei have all trained in the Orton Gillingham approach, a multisensory framework to helping struggling readers. Our team continues to work with students during individualized instruction and small group lessons to guide students and staff in word work, word study, and best practices in reading instruction.

Our literacy team is also working closely with our Language Arts teachers to take a deeper dive into the world of literacy through Mindplay, a structured literacy course that covers multiple areas of reading. After each module, our teams meet to discuss instructional strategies and ways to incorporate them into daily instruction.

As part of our mission of equitable and accessible learning for all students, Kindle Farm continues to implement a variety of tools for students who struggle with reading and writing. Our academic team has begun the process of finding online audio libraries where students can access their books in audio format. By reading along with an audiobook, struggling readers can engage in text and gain exposure to more words, ultimately improving their vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.

As our understanding of the science of reading continues to evolve, our literacy team has been researching a variety of assessments to ensure that students are receiving the best instruction based on their individualized needs. Initial assessments are taken at the beginning of each year, and student assessments continue through in-class monitoring and individualized instruction. Our goal for the coming years is to continue honing our assessment tools to inform the best instructional practices for our students, grounded in the science of reading.