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"When I talk to people about Commons Lane, I say ‘before Waterford’ and ‘after Waterford.’ We see Waterford as the catalyst that really ignited our reading program with our students."
     —Dr. Barbara Wright, Principal

Profile

Commons Lane Elementary School in Florissant, Mo. enrolls 420 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. It is one of 17 elementary schools in the north St. Louis County school district of Ferguson-Florissant. The school’s attendance area is suburban, with characteristics typical of an urban area. Nearly one quarter of the student population is transient and nearly one half qualifies for free and reduced price lunches.
 

Challenge

In the mid-1990s, Commons Lane Elementary had two sections for each grade level but there was no consistency in how reading was taught among classes or grade levels.

"When I came here 10 years ago, a student might have a teacher who used a whole language approach one year and a then teacher who used a basal the next year — and neither taught phonics," said Dr. Barbara Wright, principal of Commons Lane Elementary. "The Title I reading teacher met with me before I started. She was in tears as she described how students tested lower in January than they had earlier in September. We needed to establish consistency and get our reading program together throughout the building."
 

Solution

As Commons Lane Elementary set out to build its new reading program, Dr. Wright and the teachers determined that every teacher would teach phonics. Next, they decided to add a strong, technology-based reading program. In 1999, the school added the Waterford Early Reading Program™, adaptive computer-based instruction developed by the Waterford Institute. The implementation included 12 computers with three computers each in two kindergarten classrooms and two first grade classrooms. Commons Lane was the first school in the Ferguson-Florissant School District and the state of Missouri to implement the program.

"When I talk to people about Commons Lane, I say ‘before Waterford’ and ‘after Waterford.’ We see Waterford as the catalyst that really ignited our reading program with our students," said Dr. Wright.

Today kindergarten and first grade teachers use the Waterford Early Reading Program to support regular classroom instruction, and to reinforce and expand upon instruction in the phonics program and basal reader that are used district-wide. Teachers also use the Waterford program in before- and after-school tutoring programs and summer school to provide additional support for students working below grade level.

In the classroom, teachers integrate the Waterford program with the district’s "Four Blocks" instructional model, a flexible grouping strategy designed around 30-minute blocks that include writing, guided reading, self-selected reading, and working with words. Each morning, students break into four small groups. While one group begins working with words on the Waterford Early Reading Program, another group does self-selected reading. At the same time, the teacher leads guided reading and another group works on a science or social studies writing assignment.

The research-based Waterford software adapts to each child’s learning pace, thus meeting every student’s individual needs. Teachers report that the program keeps students’ rapt attention as they read and sing to themselves with their eyes on the computer screen.

"Waterford is the hook. Students love it. It really gets their attention and pulls in all those learning modalities. I cannot say enough about how excited the students get. It mesmerizes them," said Dr. Wright.

After students complete their weekly assignments on Waterford, teachers use the program to produce detailed progress reports that identify each child’s weaknesses. Each Friday, the classroom and student reports are gathered from each class and group, and reviewed by the principal as well.

Dr. Wright reviews how much time each student spends on the Waterford computers during the week and the skills each student mastered. Then on Monday or Tuesday she sits down with teachers to discuss each student’s reports. Using the Waterford report data, the teachers then can target instruction on the computer and in other classroom activities to the specific needs of each child.

"The Waterford Early Reading Program really fits in with No Child Left Behind and the need to be data-driven," said Dr. Wright. "The Waterford reports keep me informed on how students are doing and supports what we’re seeing in the classroom. It also supports accountability among our teachers, because know they have to give me their printed reports on Friday before they leave for the day."

In addition, teachers use the Waterford program’s take-home library of books, videotapes and audiocassettes to extend learning to the home. "Parents love the materials," said Dr. Wright. "An unexpected benefit is that we see our students’ younger siblings coming into kindergarten even better prepared than their older siblings."

In 2003-04, parents demonstrated just how much they appreciated the Waterford program when the school added a third class at the first grade level. When parents learned that the new class would not have the Waterford program due to district budget constraints, they went straight to the superintendent.

"Parents made such an uproar. When you have parents going to the superintendent’s office and saying, ‘My child is not going to be in first grade without Waterford,’ and ‘I want my child to have Waterford,’ that says a lot for the program," said Dr. Wright. "The district found the money to purchase more Waterford computers. We now have 15 Waterford stations total."
 

Results

Teachers see the cumulative effect of all the school’s reading programs, from the Waterford Early Reading Program to the district’s phonics program and basal. They report that fewer students are referred to Reading Recovery, an intervention program that provides one-on-one intensive assistance for first graders who are struggling with reading.

"I have seen a difference across the board," said Dr. Wright. "The program helps our lower students achieve and our upper students grow and reach levels they’ve never reached before. We have not retained a first grader since we started using Waterford. There also are intangibles, like the students reading with more expression because of what they hear on the computer. Technology really is an area that can help close the achievement gap."

Following the first full year of the Waterford implementation in kindergarten and first grade, Commons Lane used the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test as a pre- and post-assessment for kindergarten and first grade treatment and control groups. The treatment group was comprised of Commons Lane students while the control group was comprised of students at another elementary school in the district with a similar student population. The one-year study was designed to measure the program’s effectiveness in four key literacy areas:

1) Subtest One – Literacy concepts including uses of written English and understanding of words

2) Subtest Two – Phonological awareness including phonemes and word structures

3) Subtest Three – Letter-sound correspondence

4) Subtest Four – Story comprehension

Although the kindergarten Waterford group pre-tested below the control group, it far surpassed them in test score gains by the end of the school year. First grade students at Commons Lane pre-tested at a higher level due to their exposure to Waterford at the kindergarten level the previous year, and continued to extend their growth by year-end to levels beyond the control population who had not used Waterford. The Commons Lane students were also reading one full grade level higher than the control group.

The study also demonstrated how the Waterford Early Reading Program helped to close achievement gaps between students. In the pre-test phase, African-American students lagged behind white students by roughly 25 percentage points. By year-end, the achievement gap was virtually erased. Results were similar for English as a Second Language (ESL) students.

Since then, the school has demonstrated consistent gains on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), a performance-based assessment system for use by all public schools in the state. The assessment system is designed to measure student progress toward meeting the state’s Show-Me Standards. Levels of achievement are identified by one of five descriptors: Step 1, Progressing, Nearing Proficient, Proficient, or Advanced.

In the Communication Arts subject area, the percentage of third graders scoring at the "Nearing Proficient" level and above are as follows:

2000	2001	2002	2003
71%	81%	94%	85%

" Since implementing the Waterford program, our students have improved. Last year, for first time ever, some of our students scored at the ‘Advanced’ level, which is the highest level in Communication Arts. We feel that Waterford, particularly Level 3 of the program, played a part in that," said Dr. Wright.

The school has also realized unexpected benefits as well. "We have all day kindergarten. Before Waterford, many children would come for kindergarten but leave in first grade and go to private schools. Since implementing Waterford, those children are staying with us because parents are so pleased with what they’re getting with this program," said Dr. Wright. "We also have the highest attendance rate in the district. When students are here, they really get excited about learning."

The school continues to promote the effective use of Waterford within the district and throughout the state. Kindergarten and first grade teachers have made presentations to Parent-Teacher Organizations, the district Board of Education and other districts within the state, as well as to the Missouri State International Reading Association convention. During the past few years, more than 200 educators have come to Commons Lane to view Waterford in action.

"Principals and teachers need to get out to see students using the Waterford program and talk to teachers having success with it," said Dr. Wright. "Even teachers that thought they were not ‘technology-minded,’ have a new spark about them. It’s exciting to see how teachers react to the program, and teachers get excited because of how students react. Parents get excited too when they meet with us or call. It’s such a positive program all around."

  
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