Our students are mostly from low-income homes in a high poverty neighborhood located in the inner city of Miami, Florida. We are 95% African-American, 2% Haitian-American, 2% Hispanic and 1% Caucasian with 97% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Although, our students are faced with many socio-economic challenges, they are eager to learn and seek a high quality education.
"Every student matters, regardless of their setbacks or socio-economic status!" My students are hungry for knowledge and soak up information like sponges!
Motivation leads to success! Our students need materials to help them have a successful school experience. Our students are eager to learn and can benefit from tools that will help them to read and comprehend better. As the Instructional Reading Coach in a Title I school, I can facilitate this process and bring this love of reading and learning into the classroom.
My Project
Our students are at varying levels of learning and we have to differentiate their instruction to meet their academic needs, which is done through group rotations. All of our students receive a diagnostic test on iReady, an online program, and then they are placed on a prescriptive path with lessons that are aligned to their academic needs. An integral part of this process is the technology center in each class. Most of our students are struggling readers and in many cases, they are more than two grade levels below their current grade in reading. The required time for these struggling students is 75 minutes of weekly usage on the computer in order for the learning gap to be bridged. Currently, there are not enough computers for our students.
These instructional tools will be the catalyst that will lead to our students' educational success!
Having these laptops and the Phonics activities will make a tremendous difference in the classroom environment. Research shows that students learn best when they are actively involved with activities that are tactile and engaging. Group rotations will be much more effective with the additional laptops.
The Phonics activities will be instrumental in building reading fluency. Using the Touch and Read Phonics games will allow students opportunities to practice digraphs, vowel teams, and long vowel sounds. This will lead to students becoming more fluent readers. Students will no longer be frustrated and will become active participants in the learning process. Having these hands-on Phonics lessons will allow students to practice the skills they need to become better readers.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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