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Ditmar Elementary is a Title 1 School with over 89% poverty, 86% Minority/ Hispanic (78% designated ESL) and 45% transience, and has been using the Waterford Early Reading Program™ since 1999. It is currently being used in all kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms, as well as for upper-grade elementary students struggling with English acquisition.

Every child uses the program on a daily basis. Teachers keep weekly class reports on file, compare results with other assessment tools used in the classroom, and are accountable to the principal for the use of the Waterford Program. Because of the transient nature of Ditmar’s students, children often enter mid-year with no previous language experience. These children are immediately put on Waterford. Each staff member has developed individualized extension activities that correspond to classroom curriculum. Classroom instruction is center-based, allowing students to rotate through the Waterford Program with ease. Waterford materials are integrated into the classroom library and extended into other content areas such as science, social studies, math, and music. Parents are introduced to the program on Parent Night and given instructions on how to use the videos and Readables to strengthen literacy in the home.
  

Evidence and Results

Ditmar uses numerous site, district, and state-level testing tools to assess its students academic achievement. Since purchasing Waterford, Ditmar’s Academic Performance Index (based on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9) has moved from 413 in 1999 to 571 in 2001. Their second grade students showed a gain of 49 points on the CTBDirect Writing Prompt after a year on the program. For first grade results on the Gates-McGinite Reading Test (pre-tested in 2000 and post-tested in 2001), students moved from the 10th percentile to the 63rd percentile after a full year of using the Waterford Early Reading Program.

  
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