Our Kindergarten and TK students read over 22,000,000 words and put in over 6,000 hours of language instruction!

BPST II ( Beginning Phoneme Skills Test ) John Shefelbine, California State University, Sacramento, 2001

We tested in October before starting Footsteps2Brilliance. Students were assessed again in December, February, and May. We did not assess last year’s Kindergarten students, but did ask for an average beginning score from each First grade classroom teacher, per their beginning of the year assessments.

As you can see, our current kindergarten students have surpassed 1 st grades’ 2015-16 beginning
average. Some students will lose skills during the summer months, but they will be overall better prepared for 1st grade. Those students who participated in the F2B Summer Reading Challenge should have less loss in their reading foundational skills.  A summary of this years participation is attached.

Dibels

Dibels benchmarks occur in August, January, and May. All students made progress towards their end of
the year goals, even if they did not meet national benchmark. At the bottom is an average score for each benchmarked time period and then the overall difference between beginning averages and ending averages for each group of students. This way we can compare the rate of growth for all students, and not just individual scores. As you can see, most classes were comparable in their rate of growth, a great indicator of a strong consistent program.

Year Growth

Year to Year Comparison – Yearly Growth

It is hard to compare different years, since different groups of children always come in with different level
of skills. The comparable rate of growth since the start of the program does show a consistency of good
first instruction and positive student learning.

District Assessments – Report Cards

Our end of the year grades reflect most students reached or exceeded district report card standards and grade level essential standards. We have seen an increase in Mastery of skills in phonemic awareness, decoding, and writing. All students can write at least one simple sentence with punctuation and spacing independently. This is a marked improvement from previous years. Many students are writing stories and short reports on their own. We believe using the Create A Book section in Footsteps2Brilliance has transferred into their writing with paper and pencil. We also believe hearing stories with complete sentences for at least 20 mins a day has increased their overall language skills. Our EL students are talking more using correct grammar. Since they are thinking and communicating in complete sentences, they are also writing in complete sentences. With changing only one main aspect of our teaching in Kindergarten, using Footsteps2Brilliance, our students seem to be transferring their phonemic awareness skills more quickly and becoming readers and writers at a faster rate.

• 50% of kindergarten students mastered ELA CCSS, including reading text and reading
  foundational skills
• 38% of kindergarten students participated in the AR program reading grade level books or higher
  and taking tests without adult supervision or log in
• 47% of the students mastered kindergarten sight words and were on the 1st grade lists
• 19% of the kindergarten students knew over 500 sight words

F2B Summer Reading Challenge Summary

• There were 63 possible days of participation during the summer vacation.  We started the first Saturday, June 3rd, and ended the challenge August 6th.  This was a total of 9 weeks.
• Goal was set at using the program for at least 4 days a week for at least 15 minutes.  This goal was communicated to both the parents and the students at the Summer Challenge kickoff and parent, student, and teacher signed a contract.
• Teachers checked participation and connected with students and parents weekly.
• 100% of goal was 36 days of participation (4 days for 9 weeks).
• We agreed upon a 75% participation rate for a medal and a 50% participation rate for a certificate.  

The following chart shows the number of students at each percentage of participation.

Although 41% of our students did not log in even once, 59 % of them did. 15% of them did participate with enough days to receive either a medal or certificate. Those students who participated read 2,497,806 words and put in 608 hours of reading. That is more reading than they would have done otherwise, and with our Reading Challenge Assembly, we should be able to spark the interest in this years’ students.

The Reading Challenge Assembly will be held on Sept 21st at 8:30 in the Kindergarten area. All 1st, Kindergarten, and TK students will attend. Awards will be passed out and the 20 students who reached at least 50% of the set goal will have an ice cream party. Hopefully, seeing this awards assembly will help encourage a larger amount of students to participate next year.

Summary

When we reduce reading to teaching and testing of individual tasks, we lose sight of the goal. We need to teach students the love of language and reading, before we teach the skills. Then students want to learn in order to do what they love! “ The ultimate purpose of reading instruction is to help children acquire the skills that enable learning from, understanding, and enjoyment of written language” (Torgelson 1998). Preventing Reading Failure Students need to be exposed to meaningful language and develop their skills in a purposeful manner in order to be successful. Footsteps2Brilliance has done this for our students. It has made reading fun, engaging, and meaningful, as evident in over 50% of the students logging into the
program over the summer.

F2B transformed the way our students communicate, both in spoken and written language. We have never seen such a growth in vocabulary. They are talking in complete sentences, sharing their ideas, asking good questions, and coming up with their own synonyms while listening and reading. We have had several guest speakers in our grade level, and they have all been amazed at the students’ questions, academic vocabulary, and ability to express themselves. You know you have done something right, when you hear a student says, “What does that word mean? Is it the same as…?” Being exposed to a daily rigorous vocabulary has made a huge difference in what our students are doing in every curricular area.

Along with the increase in vocabulary, students have had a complete switch in mindset. They are always asking questions and looking for answers! They are seeking out new sources of information. They have a passion for using informational text. They ALL have the skills they need to become successful 21st
century learners.

Parents love what they are seeing as much as we do! Footsteps2Brilliance has changed the connection between school and home. Using the Learning Management System (LMS) provided through our subscription, we can track homework done, help students focus on their study skills at home and in class, and direct students and parents towards areas where growth is needed. This database helps us watch student comprehension scores to make sure students are using the skills taught to understand what they are reading. We use the LMS to have productive conversations with parents and to show them student strengths and weaknesses during conferences. We can encourage students during non school time (weekends and vacations) by watching the minutes logged in and sending them messages. This keeps them motivated and teaches them determination, tenacity, and perseverance. Parents have access to their child’s report to help direct learning at home. The LMS has helped my team focus on using data to guide instruction.

By using all aspects of Footsteps2Brilliance these last few years, different organizations within the County of San Bernardino took note of the transformational leaders supported by Snowline Joint Unified School District. We are very proud at Vista Verde, that through our work, all the children of San Bernardino County will be able to use Footsteps2Brilliance at home. We need to be able to continue this momentum and to keep encouraging the home/school connection with our parents. We always go into teaching wanting to make a difference in the world, but it usually happens one child at a time. This time we got to make a BIG difference. We have told our students how proud we are of them for helping make this change happen and had a great time being part of the county roll out.

We have put this report together, not only to help direct our instruction, but to show you appreciation for your ongoing support. We wanted you to know that great things continue to happen even after the
“honeymoon” stage. Please feel free to come by any time to watch our wonderful scholars thrive in a truly
engaging and empowering environment.

                                      Vista Verde Kindergarten Team