蜜桃影视

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

Memphis students with dyslexia will start receiving targeted reading support this school year through the district鈥檚 first universal intervention program in an effort to increase state test scores.

Under a nearly $540,000 contract approved by the Memphis-Shelby County school board last month, an outside literacy company will boost support for nearly 5,000 students who show characteristics of dyslexia. But one local reading expert noted that many students struggle with comprehension, which needs intervention beyond foundational skills.

MSCS is required by state law to screen every student for signs of dyslexia, such as difficulty connecting letters with sounds. But Tennessee allows only to students, in order to trigger state and federal disability services.

Jo Anna McCall, an education consultant for Utah-based Reading Horizons, the literacy company contracted by the district, said the end goal of the program is to increase MSCS scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP. .

McCall said students with characteristics of dyslexia often get 鈥渓ost in the shuffle鈥� of general classroom instruction.

鈥淢any have fallen through the cracks, and it鈥檚 going too fast for them, and so we have to slow down,鈥� she said.

In an Aug. 26 board meeting, MSCS leaders said Reading Horizons will train at least one district staff member per school building to run small group tutoring sessions using the company鈥檚 dyslexia-focused curriculum by the end of the school year.

It鈥檚 unclear who exactly will receive that training or when they will run the 30-minute intervention sessions recommended by the company.

Reading Horizons鈥� method is based in the science of reading, a literacy strategy focused on phonics and fluency that has gained traction in education systems in recent years. Laura Kelly, a Rhodes College education professor who specializes in elementary literacy, said MSCS already uses the science of reading in its classroom curriculum.

鈥淪o my question is, what is this adding that their existing curriculum doesn鈥檛 already have?鈥� she said.

Focusing on foundational phonics skills will help students with dyslexia, Kelly said. But she worries that won鈥檛 translate into improvement on comprehension skills 鈥� which means it鈥檚 unlikely to boost TCAP scores.

鈥淭CAP is not a phonics test; it鈥檚 a comprehension test,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淎nd there is a good chunk of kids that master foundational skills, and then they still don鈥檛 comprehend what they鈥檙e reading.鈥�

McCall said Reading Horizons鈥� method does go beyond phonics skills, including time in each lesson to read and write sentences or passages of text.

The company鈥檚 method is unique, she said, because of a 鈥渕arking system鈥� that helps students sound out words. Students mark vowels with x鈥檚, break words into syllables, and follow simple pronunciation rules that McCall says guide about 75% of English words.

鈥淚 think of this as training wheels on a bicycle,鈥� McCall said. 鈥淎s students are learning the patterns to the word, they鈥檙e going to have these markings. And then when they read passages, the marks won鈥檛 be there, but they can apply them when they come to an unfamiliar word.鈥�

According to Reading Horizons鈥� contract, the company will provide scripted manuals, flashcards, and longer texts targeted to skills students are learning. There will also be one six-hour training for chosen MSCS staff and one-day targeted coaching budgeted at $3,000 each for 30 sessions.

MSCS Director of Curriculum Amy Maples said the district is investing the 鈥渂are minimum鈥� funding level for Reading Horizons鈥� program, which company leaders said cuts out additional training and coaching sessions for school staff.

But Maples said MSCS could invest more in the program after the first year depending on results. The contract with Reading Horizons has the option for renewal through 2030.

District leaders will also be screening more students for characteristics of dyslexia this year, according to an emailed statement sent to Chalkbeat.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.