Reading

Transforming Reading in Granite City, IL

• The Foundational Literacy Gap
A significant literacy gap exists, with only 47% of kindergarten and 48% of first-grade students achieving grade-level reading skills in 2021-2022. The pandemic exacerbated disparities, particularly for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Research indicates a 90% likelihood that students who struggle early will continue to do so without timely interventions, highlighting the need for real-time data on student progress.
• ESGI's Role in Literacy Improvement
ESGI enables teachers to monitor specific reading skills, identify student needs, and group learners for targeted interventions. It provides ongoing insights through formative assessments, allowing educators to adapt instruction based on individual skill mastery. Granite City Community Unit School District 9 successfully implemented ESGI, resulting in significant growth in foundational literacy skills, such as letter recognition and decoding.
• Impact and Implementation
Collaboration with literacy consultant Donna Whyte led to the creation of assessments aligned with the Brainspring phonics program, enhancing data-driven instruction. In the 2023-2024 school year, kindergarten students mastering letter-sound production increased from 45% to 91%, while first-grade proficiency rose from 59% to 98%. ESGI supports a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), allowing for differentiated instruction and effective intervention strategies.
• Key Insights from Granite City Schools
Quick successes in early grades fostered district-wide adoption of ESGI. Teachers reported immediate improvements in student performance and reduced workloads, enhancing instructional confidence. ESGI's flexibility ensures its effectiveness across various curricula, contributing to comprehensive reading development.

View the entire whitepaper: Foundational Literacy with ESGI.

School A

Donna's work assists districts in identifying curriculum, teaching strategies and resources that make a difference. In school A, after implementation of ESGI's progress monitoring platform, her Reading Aptitude Continuum, and professional development for teachers, one of the districts had 10.1% increase in meeting targets in English language arts. Middle school achievement rose from 2.6% to 13.1% meeting targets in English language arts on PARCC and surpassed 68 schools according to state rankings of Illinois schools, becoming the highest growth ranking of any middle school in the state. The district moved up 21 rankings in comparison to all Illinois schools on the same report. Dr. Gabrielle Schwemmer, Illinois superintendent, conducted research on the work of Donna Whyte. According to Dr. Schwemmer, "through the implementation and data analysis of the Reading Aptitude Continuum created by Donna Whyte, the district is experiencing great achievement in literacy. The PARCC scores have generously increased, due to the implementation of a strategic focus on Literacy." Get the white paper.

School B

"In our school, along with several others in our consortium, we work with Donna Whyte as our long term literacy, engagement, and management consultant. Donna has brought her knowledge, vast experience, and candid honesty which challenges teachers and administrators to rethink their belief systems. It involves hard work, examining current practice, and analyzing the newest research. Along with one of her favorite sayings, “If EVERY child was successful – we wouldn’t need to change a thing – until then WE must be open to a different way”. Many teachers and administrators have described how uncomfortable they have felt at times with the challenge; however, the end results are irrefutable with data to support the success. Our reading scores are up, and referrals are down, in a setting with some of the most challenging students in our area. I highly recommend, Donna Whyte, if you are ready to commit to change to create a path to success."
Michelle Brunner, MPA
Principal Cincinnati

This chart represents our most recent growth since engaging Donna's services in 2019:

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