Van Buren Elementary School

Van Buren, OH

2018 Read Live School of the Year Runner-Up

Submitted by Mariah Hohman, Special Education Teacher, Van Buren Elementary School

Our runner-up winner, Van Buren Elementary School, has been using Read Naturally Strategy programs for 15 years. Special Education Teacher Mariah Hohman, who has been working with Read Naturally Live since 2016, oversees a program that targets 45 students in kindergarten through 5th grade, using Read Live for at least 20 minutes, three times per week, for the past two years. Students are averaging a year and a half growth on reading levels, and their confidence has greatly improved.

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

“Read Live has made a significant impact in the lives of our students at Van Buren Elementary," Ms. Hohman wrote. "Read Live is used exclusively for students with disabilities or students receiving additional interventions in the areas of reading comprehension and reading fluency.

"Students in kindergarten through 1st grade, 2nd grade through 4th grade, and 3rd through 5th grade resource rooms have utilized Read Live for at least 20 minutes, three times per week for the past two years, and the original Read Naturally computer program was used for over 15 years prior to the switch to the online platform.

"The progression of skills we have seen in fluency and comprehension is incredible! In just the 3rd through 5th grade classroom, three students have mastered their reading fluency and comprehension IEP goals early this school year. Students are also averaging a year and a half growth on reading levels, and their confidence has improved tremendously.

"Within the past year, four students who previously received pull out reading instruction in the resource room were transitioned back to the general education classroom with little to no support due to the drastic gains in their reading skills. Read Live is the primary reason behind this growth!

"Most of the students we service in our special education program are young boys. The nonfiction stories pique their interest and help them to not only improve their reading fluency and comprehension, but to also learn new facts they are excited to share with others. Students who previously had no desire to read are excited to use the program and not only listen to the stories, but practice reading on their own. The excitement has carried over to their day to day routine as students ask to read to self more often.

"The progress of our students has been tracked in the Read Live program, as well as other progress monitoring programs. The results are consistent and telling--Read Live has substantially improved their reading skills and helped to close the gap between our students with disabilities and their typical peers!”

Video

Learn about the success students have had with the Read Naturally Live program at Van Buren Elementary.