Main Street Elementary School of Arts and Leadership

Lake City, South Carolina

2024 Read Live School of the Year

Submitted by Marcia Ramsey, 5^th Grade Reading Intervention Teacher

Main Street Elementary receives a $2000 Read Naturally Gift Certificate.

Congratulations to our 2024 Read Live School of the Year, Main Street Elementary! Main Street Elementary has used Read Live for the past three years. According to the principal, Dr. Sharon Williams, "We were a school whose students were struggling with reading. Each year as we took state or benchmark assessments, students were not scoring well and oftentimes teachers said it was the result of the material just being too hard to read… We started to research a few different programs and landed on Read Naturally because it had all the components we were looking for… It has been a game-changer for us… We know that the program is one that our students enjoy, and they understand the point of what we're doing, and that's to help them get better with reading." The students' scores reflect their commitment to the program, as a significantly higher percentage of students are now reading on grade level.

In her nomination, Reading Intervention Teacher Marcia Ramsey wrote:

"Main Street Elementary has been using Read Naturally Live for the past three years. Three reading interventionists are dedicated solely to facilitating the program for students in grades 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Small groups receive intervention multiple times per week, and for some, the sessions are daily.

Our favorite features include how the program touches all components of language arts and provides individualized skill development in reading and writing. The nonfiction content of the texts enhances student knowledge of science, as well as historical facts and figures. The stories are engaging and informative.

The initial placement test is excellent at identifying individual student needs and matching those with instructional materials that target weak areas. For example, students who need to focus on phonics are placed into levels that include phonics development, while those who are more proficient are assigned stories that enhance comprehension and writing.

Our reading labs provide a print-rich environment and are filled with reward charts serving as visual incentives and encouragements. Those who meet their goals are invited to participate in school-wide celebrations. These incentives motivate students and provide reinforcement for their hard work. We also create and post anchor charts based on needs identified during reading sessions. These become the focus of mini-lessons, which provide students with further explanation and instruction.

As interventionists, we find the tools, videos, and webinars provided through the Read Naturally Live website to be invaluable. The reports are also extremely helpful in tracking student progress and providing students and parents with feedback.

A testimony to the effectiveness of Read Live is that of a student in third grade, whom we will refer to as Jay. Jay started out nervous and unsure. He was reading significantly below-grade-level. He lacked confidence and frequently sought affirmation from the teacher during the Hot-Timed reads, stopping to ask, 'Is that right?' As he progressed through the program, Jay became more confident. His enthusiasm grew as he passed each story, and soon he was completing his Hot-Timed reads without hesitation or the need for reassurance. It was quite a transformation and had a positive impact on other areas of his academics.

Last school year our goal was to increase the percentage of students reading on grade level from 19% in the fall of 2022 to 46% by the spring of 2023. In actuality, we increased to 46.8%. We credit this to our implementation of Read Naturally Live. Additionally, our 2024 Spring MAP results indicate approximately 59% have met their goal.

As a Title 1 school with a history of a large percentage of students reading below grade level, we believe that Main Street Elementary should be Read Naturally’s School of the Year. Our progress and data prove the effectiveness of the program and make it an essential part of our school."