Blog Use ESSER Funds for Innovation and Acceleration

June 2, 2021

Special Education and Regular Education Students All Need Fast Growth

Students qualifying for special education services are possibly among the hardest-hit by COVID disruptions. Federal ESSER funding (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief legislation) was authorized by Congress to address this. But, the ESSER-funded program you choose must result in rapid growth for students. Old, repackaged strategies cannot work for SpEd students. So, what can produce accelerated learning? The innovative Read Right Reading Intervention program will make it happen, as delivered by your special education staff. Read Right methods have been producing remarkable growth for 30 years. For special education students the growth is often up to 2 years gain in one school year and even less.

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Candidly, the expectation for reading improvement for special education students in one year has been six months’ growth—the rate defined by the federal government as indicative of a good reading program for SpEd students. This expectation cannot close the achievement gap. Why shoot for six months growth when your students on average can achieve one to two years growth?

Here’s how it works: Read Right consultants train your own staff, (certificated or non-certificated teaching assistants) via seven weeks of hands-on training spread over one semester, to be the BEST small group reading instructors they can possibly be. When properly trained, your staff will stop learning loss in its tracks—and produce accelerated recovery. How fast? Here are REAL examples from our clients. They are the best source for understanding how well and/or how fast Read Right Reading Intervention works:

“The State of Texas on TAKS scores has gone to vertical alignment (a standardized measure of growth; for Grade 4 to Grade 5, it is 66 points per year). The kids we’re serving, their average growth—average, mind you—is 111 points! That’s a grade-and-a-half to two full grade levels in one school year! Some of our students have made three years (growth)!” –Julia Bell, Freestone-Navarro Special Education Cooperative serving elementary and secondary special education students, Texas.

“We had a (high school) student, very problem child. …Suspended at least three times. …He got right back into it (Read Right) and did well. …November to May…his grade level had gone up 2 grade levels (in spite of extended suspensions). If you follow that manual page by page … and do everything Read Right says you should do, you will succeed. You will love it. You will feel rewarded.” –Nancy Louis, Marianna Bracetti Academy (middle and high school), Administrator and Trainer, Pennsylvania.

 “All the students at Gateway School are diagnosed with some kind of learning disorder…it has worked with every child. That’s when you have real success.” –Harriet Walber, Director, Gateway School for Grade 7 – 12 students with learning disorders, Texas.

Is the Read Right Reading Intervention Program a good fit for ESSER funding, your district, school, and staff? Absolutely. Here’s how:

From the U.S. Department of Education ESSER guidance document:

  1. Does (the program you choose) address a (school or district’s) “most important educational needs as a result of COVID-19?”  FROM READ RIGHT SYSTEMS: YES! Most Special Education students struggle with the ability to read and comprehend academic text. Rapid and permanent improvement in reading ability accelerates recovery by making it possible for special education students to succeed across the curriculum.
  2. “What is the proposed timeline for providing services and assistance to students” (and what are the gains expected in that timeline)?  FROM READ RIGHT SYSTEMS: You can expect an average 1.5 to 2 years growth in the reading abilities of special-education qualified students in one school year. This is a common average for schools implementing Read Right with Special Education students during the first year. Why? Because Read Right, unlike other intervention programs is in alignment with how the brain learns a process, and we train staff over one full semester—with students present for the entire training process. It is THE most intensive training your staff will ever receive for reading improvement.
  3. “The extent to which the (school or district) intends to use ESSER funds to promote remote learning.”  FROM READ RIGHT SYSTEMS: School staff members trained to be Read Right Small Group Instructors can use the methodology in the classroom AND online. The methodology is highly adaptable. It has been used online successfully for schools and individual families for 11 years.  
  4. “How the (school or district) intends to assess and address student learning gaps resulting from the disruption in educational services.”  FROM READ RIGHT SYSTEMS: Your ESSER objective for Special Education students is to rapidly improve reading ability so that SpEd students can begin to read and comprehend text independently. This accelerates learning in every subject.

Join individual schools and school systems that are already choosing something innovative to achieve accelerated learning. Choose Read Right to transform your Special Education program into something truly “Special.”