Category Archives: School/District Implementation

When last year’s national test scores showed that two thirds of the country’s fourth graders were reading below proficiency, educators in Chippewa Falls, WI, were well aware of this persistent, sobering statistic. Over the past several years, they’ve been steadily and strategically tackling this challenge in their own schools using Wilson’s multisensory structured literacy programs. Recently, literacy leaders from the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District shared how administrators and teachers successfully implemented Wilson’s tiered programs as part of their K-5 English Langu [...]

Recently nicknamed “Kindness, USA,” Gilbert, AZ, is noted as one of the fastest growing communities in the country. As the ever-expanding town in the Phoenix suburbs prepares for its centennial celebration in 2020, the Gilbert Unified School District is also marking 15 years as a Wilson district. In the mid-2000s, Gilbert educators paid heed to recommendations regarding the science of reading: All early learners, particularly those showing signs of reading difficulty, benefit from explicit, structured literacy instruction to develop foundational literacy skills that are crucial fo [...]

Inside the cheery, colorful PreK-2 classrooms at Betty McElmon Elementary School, daily, half-hour lessons in Fundations are another bright part of the day. As children experience the thrill of learning to read, teachers and administrators are delighting in their students’ achievements. Now entering its sixth year implementing Fundations, the West Long Branch, NJ, school notes significant increases in student learning outcomes in language arts, shared Principal James Erhardt. Over the past two years, BME has experienced an average 15 percent increase in English Language Arts PARCC scores, h [...]

In 2008, the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) in central New York entered into the world of Wilson® with great hopes and expectations as well as a solid plan for consistent, in-district training that would allow educators to provide expert instruction and improve student outcomes. Since then, the district of 21,700 students and 1,750 teachers “has maintained high-quality Wilson professional learning that is ongoing, job embedded, and focused on strengthening teacher practice and student learning,” shares Francine Grannell, the district’s Director of Professional Development. “We [...]

Now in its seventh academic year, the Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI) in New York City continues to make strides toward advancing the district-wide goal of improving adolescent literacy. The initiative was launched by the city’s Department of Education in collaboration with the New York City Council Middle School Taskforce in fall 2011. Due to its success, it continues to grow and in the upcoming school year, even more schools will participate in MSQI, which aims to expand targeted and research-based teaching and learning practices to improve student literacy in high-need middle sc [...]