Hannah Elementary School

Beverly, MA

2018 Read Live School of the Year Runner-Up

Submitted by Michelle Zampell, Reading/Literacy/Language Arts Administrator, Hannah Elementary School

Our runner-up winner, Hannah Elementary School, has been using Read Naturally Strategy programs for nine years. Literacy Coach Michelle Zampell, who has been working with Read Naturally Live for a little over a year, oversees a program that targets 30 students in 2nd and 3rd grade who need a fluency intervention. During the course of the school year, educators saw great results even in Tier III students with reading disabilities. Students who, in the past, had little self-esteem and motivation began to view themselves as proficient readers, having achieved success practicing at their own level and seeing their results.

Ms. Zampell submitted data in the form of charts and reports that indicated students using Read Naturally Live at Hannah Elementary during the course of the current school year made significant progress in their reading proficiency.

“Last year, we piloted the Read Naturally Live program with some of our students," Ms. Zampell wrote. "After much success, we decided to purchase some licenses for this year and targeted our 2nd and 3rd graders who needed a fluency intervention. We created a dedicated time in our cafe every morning from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for students who were below their Dibels benchmark for this intervention. Students were selected by analyzing their Dibels data as well as recommendations by classroom teachers.

"Classroom teachers, the reading specialist, and learning specialist committed to this time as our Read Naturally Live Lab Intervention Block. As the literacy coach, I oversaw the intervention and constantly examined the students data to watch for progress. These groups became flexible and many students had great success!

"One particular positive change which was evident was the kids really enjoyed this program! They were able to select their stories, work at their own pace, and were always engaged! They eagerly arrived with Chromebooks in hand ready to go every morning. We saw great results even in our Tier III students with reading disabilities. These students who, in the past, had little self-esteem and motivation now started to view themselves as readers because they had great success practicing at their own level and seeing their results.

"One particular story that stands out is a 3rd-grade boy who is very disabled. He had such great success and was so proud of himself and his accomplishment. It was amazing to see him view himself as a reader now. I highly recommend this program for students because it is exactly what a 'personalized learning platform' should be!”

	Gabrielle Montevecchi Principal Principal Gabrielle Montevecchi talks about how Read Naturally Live is a personalized learning platform that can be customized to meet the needs of students.
	Martha Pike Reading Specialist Reading Specialist Martha Pike talks about how students using Read Naturally Live have increased their motivation and confidence.
	Etha Indeck Special Education Teacher Special Education Teacher Etha Indeck talks about the success struggling readers have had with Read Naturally Live in their reading lab.
	Jack Third-Grade Student Third grader Jack talks about what he likes about the Read Naturally Live program at Hannah Elementary School.