The town school district has selected a commercial instruction product to teach reading in kindergarten through fifth grade, and school officials hope it will meet the needs of children, teachers and administrators.
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Springfield schools to use Fountas and Pinnell readers in K-5 classes By JEFF EPSTEIN vtreporter@eagletimes.com 3 hrs ago 0 Springfield School District COURTESY SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The town school district has selected a commercial instruction product to teach reading in kindergarten through fifth grade, and school officials hope it will meet the needs of children, teachers and administrators. The product chosen, Fountas and Pinnell Classroom, by the Heinemann company, was presented Monday evening at the school board’s regular meeting by David Cohn, the director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, and Andie Bentley, the K-5 in-house instructional coach, providing support to teachers. Fountas and Pinnell Classroom was one of two finalists examined by a focus group of teachers and administrators. The other product considered was Lucy Calkins Units of Study. The plan is to roll out the new curriculum next September in the Elm Hill Primary School (grades K-2) and the Union Street Elementary School (grades 3-5). The product (actually designed for use up to sixth grade) will provide a common resource and baseline for reading instruction, while allowing teachers some customization and creativity, Bentley and Cohn said. The product provides classroom with individual reading materials for each child, and a curriculum for teachers to cover reading units with a variety of instructional methods. But part of the program is also letting students read regular books from home or the library. Having a common resource across all K-5 classrooms is important, said Cohn. “Teachers without a common resource were picking and pulling from a variety of resources,” said Cohn. Cohn described the cost of Fountas and Pinnell as “pricey” at $210,000, which covers materials for all K-5 classrooms. However, no money will come from the district, he said, as the cost is fully covered by Title I federal funds. Part of the “evidence-based instruction,” Cohn said, is devoting 90-120 minutes a day to reading instruction, a figure greeted by some in the meeting audience with skepticism. However, Cohn explained, that time is not a single bloc of asking children to sit still. The curriculum uses a variety of different methods, such as read-alouds, participatory reading, phonics units, small group learning and one-to-one instruction, all designed to help teachers figure out each child’s reading level and progress. Fountas and Pinnell Classroom “meets all of these evidence-based practices,” said Bentley. Teachers are already using these different kinds of instruction, but doing so without a common resource makes it hard to see progress across classrooms and teachers, said Cohn. To help explain the product, Cohn and Bentley showed a video from the vendor showing the Fountas and Pinnell product in use. The video showed teachers using the materials in each of the different types of instruction. Children shown in the video were calm, engaged and participatory. In response to a question about the product’s track record, Cohn said that Fountas and Pinnell Classroom is new, and Springfield would be a pioneer in creating a track record for it. “The program is something teachers have been asking for,” said Cohn. The district tests academic proficiency with federal, state and local assessments. Another product of this brand, the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Assessment, is in use for local assessments in grades 1-4, according to the district. However, state assessments called Common Core are key, and the one the district uses in most primary grades is the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). District scores for 2017 SBAC assessments are available from grade 3 up, and the 2017 figures show 34 percent of grade 3 at or above the basic proficiency standard (“Level 3”), where the state average was 49 percent. For grade 4, 25 percent of students hit the proficiency mark where the state average was 49 percent. For grade 5, 33 percent were at Level 3, against the state average of 55 percent.
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Springfield schools to use Fountas and Pinnell readers in K-5 classes By JEFF EPSTEIN vtreporter@eagletimes.com 3 hrs ago 0 Springfield School District COURTESY SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The town school district has selected a commercial instruction product to teach reading in kindergarten through fifth grade, and school officials hope it will meet the needs of children, teachers and administrators. The product chosen, Fountas and Pinnell Classroom, by the Heinemann company, was presented Monday evening at the school board’s regular meeting by David Cohn, the director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, and Andie Bentley, the K-5 in-house instructional coach, providing support to teachers. Fountas and Pinnell Classroom was one of two finalists examined by a focus group of teachers and administrators. The other product considered was Lucy Calkins Units of Study. The plan is to roll out the new curriculum next September in the Elm Hill Primary School (grades K-2) and the Union Street Elementary School (grades 3-5). The product (actually designed for use up to sixth grade) will provide a common resource and baseline for reading instruction, while allowing teachers some customization and creativity, Bentley and Cohn said. The product provides classroom with individual reading materials for each child, and a curriculum for teachers to cover reading units with a variety of instructional methods. But part of the program is also letting students read regular books from home or the library. Having a common resource across all K-5 classrooms is important, said Cohn. “Teachers without a common resource were picking and pulling from a variety of resources,” said Cohn. Cohn described the cost of Fountas and Pinnell as “pricey” at $210,000, which covers materials for all K-5 classrooms. However, no money will come from the district, he said, as the cost is fully covered by Title I federal funds. Part of the “evidence-based instruction,” Cohn said, is devoting 90-120 minutes a day to reading instruction, a figure greeted by some in the meeting audience with skepticism. However, Cohn explained, that time is not a single bloc of asking children to sit still. The curriculum uses a variety of different methods, such as read-alouds, participatory reading, phonics units, small group learning and one-to-one instruction, all designed to help teachers figure out each child’s reading level and progress. Fountas and Pinnell Classroom “meets all of these evidence-based practices,” said Bentley. Teachers are already using these different kinds of instruction, but doing so without a common resource makes it hard to see progress across classrooms and teachers, said Cohn. To help explain the product, Cohn and Bentley showed a video from the vendor showing the Fountas and Pinnell product in use. The video showed teachers using the materials in each of the different types of instruction. Children shown in the video were calm, engaged and participatory. In response to a question about the product’s track record, Cohn said that Fountas and Pinnell Classroom is new, and Springfield would be a pioneer in creating a track record for it. “The program is something teachers have been asking for,” said Cohn. The district tests academic proficiency with federal, state and local assessments. Another product of this brand, the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Assessment, is in use for local assessments in grades 1-4, according to the district. However, state assessments called Common Core are key, and the one the district uses in most primary grades is the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). District scores for 2017 SBAC assessments are available from grade 3 up, and the 2017 figures show 34 percent of grade 3 at or above the basic proficiency standard (“Level 3”), where the state average was 49 percent. For grade 4, 25 percent of students hit the proficiency mark where the state average was 49 percent. For grade 5, 33 percent were at Level 3, against the state average of 55 percent.
With all the money we as a district on specialized instructors and administrators we need to purchase can curricula to teach reading plus not an accredited program on that. Shame
ReplyDeleteHuh?
DeleteDid the teachers have any input on this? Where does our Union Street principal stand on this?
ReplyDeleteCan't teach kids to read? Throw some money at it!
ReplyDeletePoint of order, the Eagle Times got Coen's title wrong. He's now Assistant Superintendent attendant with a much fatter salary. Superintendent cutting teaching staff while feathering the bed of his pal Coen.
That would be David Cohn, not (Kevin) Coen, who is a teacher.
DeleteCohn huge waste of money.
got promoted to curriculum director, who is harassment coordinator, when he was having an affair with a school nurse and the superintendent knew about the affair, got promoted to assistant super when he was not able to do the job he had - old boys network
ReplyDeleteTruth.
DeleteWe are one of the first districts to use this unproven curriculum? Maybe that tulle one money could of been used for training our teachers how to teach reading that money could of gone a long way I'm sure
ReplyDeleteHere's one teaching professional's assessment of the Fountas and Pinell method:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.spelfabet.com.au/2014/12/fountas-and-pinnell-leveled-literacy-intervention/
Well 6:42, your link got me into the forest but I had to search around a bit to find the correct tree, ie: Fountas and Pinnell. What I found was interesting in that at the board meeting on Monday, Cohen stated that this program was so groundbreakingly new, that few school districts have had the opportunity to use it.I
DeleteReading the link, I see that this is not true as MANY districts have been using it since 2014 (by posters comments) including NYC which has now abandoned it. Of the educators posting to the article, I'd say nearly 100% were highly critical of it. These highly informed posters in my opinion knew of what they wrote.I
Why then is Cohen telling us different? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.......
http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=601706 This link is teacher reviews
ReplyDeleteLooking at the school digger site, www.schooldigger.com/go/vt, we see (in terms of rating) union street school coming in forth. And river side coming in also fourth.
ReplyDeleteFROM THE BOTTOM. Of 169 and 98 schools respectively.
As I posted elsewhere about our schools:
DeleteIt's a death spiral, pure and simple.
Taxpayers complain about high school tax rates.
The board responds by cutting school funding.
The quality of education goes down and is reflected in lowered property values.
To continue funding the same amount, the town has to raise the tax rate on the devalued properties.
The taxpayers complain about high school tax rates.
The board responds by cutting school funding.
The quality of education goes down and is reflected in lowered property values. . . . . .
So, where's the problem?
Look Below Chuck, they make more than the Avg in VT, If Springfield is struggling for Tax dollars, maybe a good citizen and Teacher could stop holding the Tax payers for ransom. The difference is about the amount between keeping the current budget and laying off teachers.
DeleteReally Looks like these Teachers need to have a raise for their great performances they already get paid above Avg in VT.
ReplyDeletehttps://www1.salary.com/VT/Public-School-Teacher-salary.html
Springfield VT Teachers Salaries are $ 1837 per year higher than the Avg Teacher in VT.
Avg in VT $ 55,860... Springfield $ 57,697, Look Anonymous Anonymous I can do math!
You're also good at repeating yourself, Roger. Being retired, I actually have the time to play "whack-a-mole" with you. Are you sure you do?
DeleteRetired 4:24?, if I had to guess, the only whack-a-mole you're playing is during your marathon internet porno sessions.
DeleteWay to keep it classy, 5:19. You probably have to guess about a lot of things. Shows where YOUR mind is, though!
DeleteBoth union street and river side are terrible compared to the overall schools in vermont. Like next to last place in scores.
ReplyDeleteThe schools here have problems, no doubt. Bashing teachers and the handicapped is not the solution. There may be more people who need extra help here than in other places. Throwing them under the bus is not the solution. I refuse to live in a town, or a country, that is that greedy and heartless. And I'm not leaving. Maybe an across-the-board pay freeze is in order, combined with consolidation of management positions. Maybe some non-essential programs can be cut. I just read where the village of Hinsdale, IL is cutting their sports programs to balance their school budget. Hinsdale is one of the wealthiest towns in America, so if they need to do it, maybe we need to do it, too. There has to be a solution that doesn't negatively impact basic education, for anyone.
DeleteI have to suppose the liberal Marxists on this site will reply to you in due order 6:31. As for me, I believe your thoughts are well put forth.
DeleteCutting the school budget is as sensible as telling James Hartness that even though his turret lathe looks nifty, we're cutting back on the water that's powering his machinery. Hardness' invention brought not only customers but other innovative machinists to Springfield as well-- and Precision Valley, which supplied 38% of all of America's machine tools before WWII, was born.
ReplyDeleteWe could do the same with our school system.
If you want to make our town attractive to business, you don't stint on the assets.
Schools are assets, not parking lots. You don't attract anybody to Springfield because you have a low-cost parking lot. You attract them when you have the best school system around. (Don't believe it? Look at the families with kids who moved to Weathersfield to have a chance to send their kids to Woodstock High School).
People will come here, not only to send their kids to great schools, but also to visit and learn about good educational methods the way factories sent their machinists and engineers here learn about the machine tool business.
If we don't break the death spiral, we will never develop an asset that will change our fortune. It's time we started thinking about becoming Education Valley.
Maybe we could start "....thinking about becoming "Education Valley" if you and others would STOP reminiscing about machine tools. IT'S DAY IS LONG GONE!
DeleteAs usual Chuck, you just don't get it. If we could buy our way to excellence in education, we'd already be there.
Deletehttps://education.vermont.gov/documents/data-per-pupil-spending-fy2017
There was a recent publish survey of SHS students. The question was asked, what is the greatest obstacle to learning? The most popular answer was, classroom distraction by retards and their aids.
But you're not serious enough on improving education to take on that topic are you?
Hum, "Spare the rod, Retard the child"
Delete12:06, the problem is not going to be answered by spending more or spending less, but by looking at how our spending is supposed to be an investment.
ReplyDeleteIf you passed up a chance to put more money into a Wall Street stock that you knew was going to outperform the market, you'd be a fool. You'd be even more of a fool if you started to reduce what you were already investing in it.
So, our work is to enhance the very asset that you undervalue and have it outperform the market-- to our benefit. Too bad you can't help do that.
The solution is to go back to the 60's and 70's way of teaching. Also desks in a row and not some round table in your face seating.
ReplyDeleteIf these times were the 60's and 70's, that might be a good solution. But they're not, and we'll never be going back there.
ReplyDeleteChuck, exactly as expected. You refused to address contemporary education with regard to mainstreaming chromosome enhanced, uncontrollable imbeciles turning the classroom into a madhouse. Thankfully that didn't exist in the 60's and 70's, and never has in respected academic institutions.
ReplyDelete507, exactly, I have heard some class rooms are a Mad House. Totally out of control.
ReplyDelete5:07, I can address exactly how to handle the situation you refer to.
ReplyDeleteHowever, just because I can present a solution all wrapped up and with a pretty bow for a decoration it doesn't mean it's going to happen.
What needs to be done is for the community, the teachers, the administration and the school board to start thinking outside the box. I can encourage them to do so, but I can't force them. And it's clear I can't force the likes of you.
Until we do, nothing is going to change. When we do, we will have a chance to make our school district a gem among our community assets.
Sounds like you should run for school director.
DeletePlease Chuck, forgo the pretty bow and shower us with your intellectual insight. Explain how the survey by SHS is not valid.
ReplyDeleteFor those listening in, behold a teaching opportunity. Liberals, particularly under achieves, need to champion a cause to feel good about themselves. A cause whose backlash frequently has net negative impact. But by golly, I feel good about myself. Hence, we have retards running amuck at the expense of every other student.
Take the third grade for instance, a real circus. And the seventh grader who can't spell or write. What is happening?
ReplyDeleteThe inmates are running the institution!
ReplyDeleteStep one: Get rid of McLaughlin and his buddy Cohn. These "We're smarter than you" boys are not only continuing the downward spiral of Springfield schools they're accelerating it! All one has to do is go to a school board meeting and hear their LIES about the future direction of the district schools.
Cut these two non-resident tumerous leeches from the payroll and our schools can begin to move in a positive direction!!!
I have no problems with any SHS survey. The issue can be resolved quite quickly simply by denying certain students any opportunity for further education. However, that is bad for everybody. For one thing, the definition of "problem behavior" would become broader and broader, eventually denying education to about 40% of all children. Sieg Heil!
ReplyDeleteTo solve the problem requires deeper thinking than we allow ourselves. The people who created the world's premier national education system came up with a number of points that a couple of Americans wrote down after they explored it at length. Here are three:
2) Trust educators and children. Give them professional respect, creative freedom and autonomy, including the ability to experiment, take manageable risks and fail in the pursuit of success.
3) Change the focus. Create an emotional atmosphere and physical environment of warmth, comfort and safety so that children are happy and eager to come to school. Teach not just basic skills, but also arts, crafts, music, civics, ethics, home economics and life skills.
4) Emphasize well-being. Make child and teacher well-being the top priority in all schools, as engines of learning and system efficiency.
*******************
This school system operates in a country that has 3 official languages. That would be a problem in America.
The schools are so uniformly good that no parent has a worry about moving to a district where the child poverty rate is 15%-- which I think is twice as high as Springfield's.
No parent in the country has to worry about disruptive students in the classrooms, because all those factors which cause disruption are dealt with as soon as they are identified, not after the student arrives at school.
The difference in ability to learn between the most adept and least adept student in a class is the lowest in the world.
And the country has schools with high multiracial and multiethnic mixes, and none of the problems we say those cause.
So, if they can do it, why don't we do it? Well, for one thing, I know one school board member who is willing to tell me why instead of to face the challenge.
Chuck stop talking and start doing. It’s time to put on your big boy pants and run for school board.
DeleteEvery time I've run, I've gotten ~750 votes. Sort of like Trump's 30%. True and steadfast believers, but always a tiny minority.
DeleteChuck, stop with the spin and propaganda. No one made any suggestion of denying any child a further education. The issue is, learning environment. Got it? Without it no amount of spending resolves Springfield's abysmal test ranking and highest state-wide dropout rate. I've been to enough school board meetings to witness first hand the obnoxious, YOU OWE ME mentality of SpEd parents. Little wonder their spawn come to school with no social skills. Unfortunately, the school board dolts always take the politically correct path of least resistance irrespective of impact on good students. With Springfield's predominate electorate demographic the board's make up is impossible to change. Most responsible choice for any parent with the means is to enroll their child in boarding school or just move. Springfield has no future.
ReplyDelete11:18, you don't see a bigger picture, do you? The system I described has special education students who are just as needy, yet they don't have the problems in their classrooms that we have in ours. Are you curious as to why they don't?
ReplyDelete