Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy is reporting improvements in literacy for its students in grades 6-12 following implementation of Voyager Sopris Learning’s LANGUAGE! Live. In the initial year, students at CGLA showed literacy gains on the average of 2.4 years, as evidenced by jumps in Lexile scores.
Not only did middle and high school students at CGLA show improvement in both reading comprehension and spelling, but school officials report that as many as 50 students showed enough literacy growth to exit LANGUAGE! Live after the first year.
“We were having particular trouble getting the high school students on board at first as they balked about being in a reading class,” said Jean Anne Gardner, literacy coach, CGLA. “But once they did, they enjoyed astounding success. Plus, LANGUAGE! Live is very respectful of high school students with age-appropriate materials so that helped make the transition go more smoothly.”
Ms. Gardner said one of the keys to engaging the students with the school’s new reading structure was getting parents on board with it. “We told these parents ‘your girls just have to do this and they will improve.’ From December on, we witnessed an amazing difference. And we happily followed up with the same parents about their child’s progress.”
According to one of CLGA’s middle school teachers, the improvement students made was eye-opening. “It was especially evident among those students who worked hard and met their goals — they saw incredible progress,” said Kingsley Bennett, seventh-grade teacher. She also said she witnessed Lexile score increases of 300 to 400 points. "LANGUAGE! Live covers all the bases, and you could tell the girls really loved the literature and their learning of grammar and reading.”
For the upcoming 2017-18 school year, CGLA is looking forward to implementing LANGUAGE! Live with an even greater focus on fidelity, Ms. Gardner explained. One facet is the hiring of a new middle school teacher from the East Coast, who comes with rich LANGUAGE! Live experience.
“Our studies show when LANGUAGE! Live is implemented with fidelity, students typically gain about two years in one academic year,” said Jeffrey A. Elliott, president, Voyager Sopris Learning. “To exceed that standard with average literacy gains of 2.4 years over the course of nine months is simply remarkable. I applaud Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy for their dedication to literacy, and for this achievement.”
LANGUAGE! Live is a blended model solution that combines teacher-led instruction with online practice that helps struggling students become proficient readers.
For more information on Voyager Sopris Learning, visit www.voyagersopris.com; for more information on LANGUAGE! Live, visit www.voyagersopris.com/literacy/language-live/overview.