The School Readiness Dilemma

The U.S. is facing an early literacy crisis:  nearly half of students nationwide enter kindergarten without the reading and oral language skills needed to succeed academically. 88% of these students will not read proficiently by 3rd grade. In Bridgeport, Ct. Public Schools, the challenges are even more dire since 79% of its students come from “high needs” backgrounds. 

Superintendent Michael Testani selected Footsteps2Brilliance (F2B), a bilingual early literacy solution, to create a proactive citywide model for accelerating kindergarten readiness and 3rd grade reading proficiency. Footsteps2Brilliance is a standards-aligned, game-based solution available in English and Spanish that personalizes instruction and is available to students and their parents via their mobile devices. Testani’s strategy included two phases: (1) to provide immediate PreK community support and (2) to spread this innovation into his K-3 classrooms.  The results were impressive.

The Bridgeport Strategy

Results in Just 6 Months

Testani’s vision yielded immediate results. In fact, a 2022 study of PreK students entering kindergarten (n=1,357) proved that students with F2B usage outperformed non-F2B students as documented by the Beginning of Year (BOY) DIBELS assessment. Specifically, 23% of F2B students “Met or Exceeded” DIBELS BOY milestones as compared to only 15% of non-F2B students. 

 The usage data and Superintendent Testani’s testimonial support the these results.  

Kindergarten Readiness Implementation

Testani prioritized his PreK students and community support. Without a proactive Kindergarten Readiness strategy, he understood that his district would face future underperforming 3rd grade reading scores, costly remediation and disengaged dropouts. During Phase 1, Testani launched F2B throughout his PreK schools. In addition, he opened access to any families and community members who had PreK children—even if they were not enrolled in Bridgeport schools. 

Spreading Innovation Into the K-3 Classrooms

Understanding the importance of his K-3 teachers’ buy-in, Testani piloted a Summer Academy to expand usage with an early-adopter group of K-3 teachers. A 3rd grade Summer teacher shared, “We piloted F2B this summer school and the activities were engaging. The students never complained about using the games and stories like other required sites.” Based on initial success, Bridgeport has implemented Phase 2 to make F2B available to all K-3 teachers, and the district’s usage has grown exponentially.