Because of COVID-19 some students haven’t seen a classroom since March. Some readers were already struggling before schools closed, and have fallen even further behind. This learning slide could be devastating for at-risk readers. The stakes are high and the outlook is bleak for kids who can’t read proficiently by 3rd grade.

 

At the same time, COVID has dramatically altered REAP’s ability to train teachers, so we’ve been exploring other ways to help. We’ve held long discussions with school administrators about what their students need right now, and we’ve invested many hours planning how to make it happen.

 

REAP is temporarily shifting gears, forging a new path with more unknowns but huge potential benefits. Our Literacy Leaders will work directly with small groups of at-risk readers and their teachers using Structured Literacy to reverse the loss of critical reading skills and bring readers to grade level.

Pilot program underway at the Boyce Ansley School

Carla Stanford, REAP's Director of Education, launched the first Essential Intervention as a pilot program at the Boyce Ansley School in September. Carla is working with three small groups of 1st graders to boost critical reading skills. After just a few weeks, students are already showing significant improvement, so we're extending the program duration and adding Kindergarten students. REAP plans to expand the Essential Intervention program to include groups at metro Atlanta public schools.