We are so proud of our work and our impact! We are thrilled that our scholars look forward to returning to our program year after year. We see immense improvement from our scholars in their reading levels and confidence each year.

In 2019, Wise Readers to Leaders served more scholars than ever! All 474 scholars were assessed throughout the summer to determine overall program effect on scholar academic gain.

Kindergarten and first grade students were assessed using sight words. Our students worked their way through sight word phrase books, trying to pass levels and move up to more difficult words. For reference, kindergartners are expected to know 20 sight words by the end of the year and 1st graders are expected to know 100 sight words. By the end of the summer, our K1s had gained an average of 82 words, across all six program sites! This is nearly a school year’s worth of sight world learning in six weeks.

Here is how much our K1 scholars improved at one of our sites:

Our 2nd through 5th graders were given a mix of fiction and non-fiction texts and were tested on their words correct per minute (WCPM).

LAUSD reports that only 42.3% of students are meeting or exceeding grade-level literacy standards. By the end of summer, our scholars are far exceeding that statistic!

Many of our scholars truly enjoyed completing their literacy assessments. Several scholars listed assessments as their favorite part of curriculum time. Scholars enjoyed competing against their past reading scores and were always striving to improve!

From the beginning of summer 2019 to the end of summer, our 2nd and 3rd graders saw an average increase of 22 WCPM across fiction and nonfiction! Our 4th and 5th graders saw an average increase of 23 WCPM across fiction and nonfiction!

Here is how much our 2-5 scholars improved at one of our sites:

Our Middle School scholars were assessed using the San Diego Quick Assessment, which measures the recognition of words out of context. Generally, proficient readers read words as accurately out of context as in context.

For the first time in our program history, we held our Summer Program remotely! Our staff, teen volunteers, and scholars quickly adjusted to our virtual classrooms. Despite the challenges of shifting to a remote setting, our staff and volunteers continued to provide scholars with enriching lessons and mentorship.

Letter of support from Jodi Harrison, Principal of Stanley Mosk Elementary School

Letter of support from Michael Payne, Principal of Fullbright Avenue Elementary School