St. Laurence Catholic School is blessed to have two Reading Specialists who serve students in grades PK – 8th Grade. The Reading Specialists support teachers and students in a variety of ways such as:
In grades Kindergarten through Third Grade, the Reading Specialist collaborates with the teachers to identify students who may need specific, targeted, instruction for a short period of time. These short, intensive, pull-out, intervention groups are created from the results of MAP testing, DRA (Development Reading Assessment), and teacher observations. The objective of these short-term interventions is to provide intentional instruction to bolster reading skills.
Basic Language Skills(BLS), a program designed by the Neuhaus Education Center, consists of pull-out groups for students diagnosed with dyslexia in grades 1st-5th. Eligibility for this program is determined by the support team based on academic need and availability.
Literacy support is provided in upper grades as well. The Reading Specialist works with the Administrative team to identify students in need of support within their Reading, Literature, and English/Language Arts classrooms. The Reading Specialist provides many types of support, depending on what is needed. This can range from simply being a second teacher in the classroom to working with small groups during group work portions of the class or pulling a small group to work on a specific skill. This truly looks different in every classroom and changes based on student and teacher needs.