In his book Teaching to Change Lives, the late Howard Hendricks said, “the best teachers never stop learning.” One educator who would certainly agree with this often-repeated adage is 17-year teaching veteran Brittany Macellaro, who supports both teachers and students as a K-2 literacy specialist at Joel Elementary in Clinton, Connecticut. We sat down with Brittany to learn more about her experiences in the classroom.
I work in a dual role as both a coach and an interventionist, pushing into classrooms to model Fundations lessons and pulling students for tiered interventions. Before becoming a literacy specialist, I taught Fundations in the classroom as a Level 1 teacher for several years, and then got my certification as a Level 2 facilitator. Now, I’m helping second grade teachers firm up their practices and it’s been a great journey so far.
I think one of the things that’s so unique to Fundations is the routine and structure—for the students and the teachers—which helps them to feel more comfortable and confident. Before Fundations, every teacher was doing their own phonics instruction, leading to inconsistency. Now, with Fundations, everything is standardized— everything is there for you, and once you are trained, it’s so easy. If there’s an aspect of the lesson you are unsure about, you can just go into FUN HUB® and watch a model lesson, so you can be confident in your delivery.
The consistent routines and structures are a huge benefit for students too, who thrive on predictability. No matter which teacher a student has, they get the same high-quality instruction. When students know what to expect, they are more willing to take risks and try new things.
One of the biggest gains is in student confidence. I’ve seen students working with their younger siblings, teaching them how to tap out sounds and letters, which is incredible. Teachers—especially those without a strong reading background—are also growing alongside their students. They’re learning about vowel teams, schwa sounds, and more advanced concepts, which helps them feel more confident and effective in their instruction.
My students love the Mama Echo and Baby Echo puppets! During intervention sessions, they often bring the puppets into our lessons and place them around the table, which makes learning even more engaging for them. In Level 2, students are excited about using Gel Word Boards for Trick Word practice, a new and exciting tool they didn’t have in Level 1. Kindergarteners love Storytime, especially when they get to act out stories with the puppets. It’s a great way for them to retell the story.
There’s one little girl who stands out to me. She came to us from another district as a second grader, without knowing all her letter sounds, which is very challenging at that age. After implementing Fundations and pulling her into my intervention groups, she made remarkable progress. By the end of the year, she was reading CVC words and her confidence had soared. You could see her eyes light up with excitement as reading started to click for her. It felt amazing to send her off to third grade, knowing she would continue to grow and catch up with her peers.