The Grace Place Approach
Fostering Reading Proficiency and Educational Success in Golden Gate Communities
Reading proficiently by the end of third grade has been adopted nationally as an important educational milestone. It is at this point that students begin to shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”. Without the ability to read instinctively, students in fourth grade and beyond will struggle to master more complex subject matter they will encounter. This, of course, has educational implications for middle school, high school, and post-secondary, but it may also negatively affect one’s ability to achieve in the workforce.
In the United States, two-thirds of fourth graders are not proficient readers—meaning they are not scoring high enough on their standardized reading assessments. The results for low-income students are even worse—4 out of 5 are not proficient.
To move the needle towards this important milestone, it will take a collective effort. School districts are the primary drivers, but after-school programs, communities, and families play an important role as well. At Grace Place, our primary mission is to educate children and families in the Golden Gate community and more specifically to improve their literacy skills. Seventy percent of families who participate in Grace Place programs speak a language other than English at home, which adds a barrier to gaining reading proficiency.
In our elementary after-school program, staff use creative methods to support literacy growth. First and foremost, it is the strong, caring relationship between staff and students that makes Grace Place a safe and inclusive environment. These relationships create a space for children to learn and grow. Also, staff are adept at including literacy in everything they do from time on the playground, during mealtime, during enrichment classes, and of course through explicit literacy instruction.
Literacy instruction takes many forms. Students rotate through learning centers each day which allows those with varied learning styles to excel. Online curriculum from Footsteps to Brilliance, homework help, phonemic awareness activities, and guided reading groups are common stations in the learning centers. In addition to the literacy lessons completed in the classroom, Grace Place employs a reading specialist who meets with students in small groups for more targeted interventions.
Since Grace Place subscribes to the belief that parents are the child’s first teachers, the staff also provides training and resources for families to support their children’s at home learning. By participating at Grace Place, each of the families is able to grow their home libraries. This additional out-of-school time instruction gives Golden Gate families the support they need to accomplish reading proficiency, leading to improved outcomes in graduation rates, postsecondary attainment, and eventually improved economic outcomes through career advancement.
