Prepared
by
Celekah
Mills Ark Teacher/ Librarian and Carrie Veenstra Education Lead
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PROGRAM OVERVIEW
TheARKprogramisfundedanddirectedthroughManyHandsfor AbacoandislocatedatCentralAbacoPrimarySchool(CAPS).The primaryobjectiveoftheARKReadingandMathLiteracyProgramwasto supportstudentsperformingtwotothreeyearsbelowgradelevelby providingresearch-basedinstructionfocusedonfoundationalliteracy andnumeracyskills Theseinstructionaleffortstargetedlearninggaps thatemergedasaresultofdisruptionscausedbyHurricaneDorianand theCOVID-19pandemic.
TheARKReadingandMathprogramscurrentlyservestudentsingrade 1.Forthepurposeofhavingfocusedandimpactfulinstructionatthis level,theaverageclasssizeis5-8students.
TheARKProgramistaughtbyMrs CelekahMillswithdirectionand mentorshipfromMrs.CarrieVeenstra.
ARK Reading Program
Mid-YearEvaluationandStrategicPivot
ARKReadingProgram:Mid-YearEvaluationandStrategicPivot Attheoutsetoftheacademicyear,theARKReadingProgramserved3rd, 4th,and5thgradestudentsthroughtwo40-minutesessionsperweek. Theaveragegroupsizewasninestudents.Overtime,theprogram evolvedinresponsetostudentsneedsandshiftingschoolpriorities. However,astheyearprogressed,consistentdisruptionstoARK instructionaltimewereobserved,compromisingtheprogram’s continuityandeffectiveness.
Severalfactorscontributedtothesedisruptions,includingchangesin classroominstructionalschedules,ongoingassessments,districtmandatedevents,andvariouscalendarcommitments.Manyofthese circumstanceswerebeyondthecontrolofboththeschool administrationandclassroomteachers.Asaresult,ARKlessons developedbyMrs.Mills,theprogram’sleadinstructor,werenotableto beimplementedconsistently,andhertimeandexpertisewerenotbeing utilizedtotheirfullpotential.
Giventhesechallenges,amid-yearpivotwasnecessary Afterthoughtful discussionwithMrs.Millsandtheschool’sadministrativeteam,a strategicdecisionwasmadetoreallocateARKresourcestofirstgrade, focusingonfoundationalliteracydevelopment.
Toidentifystudentsinneed,firstgradeteacherswereaskedto recommendstudentswhomightbenefitfromtargetedreadingsupport. Eachrecommendedstudentwasindividuallyassessed,andthosewho scored50%orbelowonletterrecognitionandsoundidentificationwere selectedfortheARKProgram.
Forphonicsandreadingfluencyinstruction,theARKProgramprimarily utilizedtheWilsonLanguageProgram,aresearch-basedcurriculum knownforitseffectivenessinfoundationalliteracy.
AssessmentResults:FirstGradeParticipants
Thechartsbelowreflectstheprogressoffirstgradestudentswho participatedintheARKReadingProgram,showingimprovementinletter recognitionandsoundidentificationovertheinstructionalperiodofMarch toMay2025.
StudentsinGroup1 demonstratedsignificant overallimprovement,withthe mostnotablegainsinletter recognitionobservedinstudent JaylenJL.WhenJaylenbegan theprograminMarch,hewas unabletoidentifyanylettersor sounds.Bythetimeofhisfinal assessment,hewasableto recognize25letternamesand 25correspondingsounds.
Otherstudentsalsoshowed commendableprogress.For example,MaquanS.initially recognizedonly7lettersand2 sounds.Bytheendofthe program,hisassessment resultsshowedrecognitionof23letternamesand17sounds.Similarly,Jayda R.andMaquanS.exhibitedstronggrowththroughoutthecourseofthe program.
NathanielJ. ShilohM.MaquanS. SiennaI. JaydaR. JaylenJL.
StudentsinGroup2demonstrated improvement,withthemost notablegainsinletterrecognition andsoundsbeingobservedin studentJohnathanC.Whenwe firststarted,hewasunableto identifylettersnorsounds.Forhis finalassessment,hewasableto recognize26letternamesand26 correspondingsounds.
Othernotableimprovementswere seeninbothBersonD.andMichael T.andChristopherC.Christopher
hadneverattendedschoolbeforeandassuchstruggledinallareas.So, althoughmasterywasnotachieved,knowingthathemadegainsis commendable.
StudentsinGroup3made commendableprogressoverall. JaydenJL,inparticular, demonstratedexceptional improvementinbothletter recognitionandsound identification Despiteinitial challengesinhispretest, consistentinstructionledto remarkablegrowth,withJayden successfullyrecognizingall26 lettersandsoundsduringthe post-assessment.
WillianaB.initiallyfacedsignificantdifficultiesbutshowednotable improvementbytheendoftheprogram,reflectingherdedicationand growth.DeontreN.,whoscoredthehighestduringtheinitialtesting, encounteredsomechallengesinfurtherenhancinghisletterrecognition skills.However,hedidmakeconsiderablestridesinimprovinghisletter soundrecognition.
ChristpherC. BersonD. VinceJ. MichaelT.JohnathanC. JaysonF .
Ark Math Program
Mid-YearEvaluationandStrategicPivot
TheARKMathProgramwasinitiallystructuredaroundthreecore instructionalunits:NumberSense,PlaceValue,andComparingand OrderingNumbers.Thesefoundationalconceptswereintentionally selectedtosupportthedevelopmentoffactfluencyinaddition, subtraction,andmultiplication.Studentsengagedwiththeseconcepts throughavarietyofinstructionalmethods,includinghands-on activitiesusingmanipulatives,guidedpracticewithworksheets,and digitalreinforcementthroughtheIXLonlinelearningplatform.
Aspreviouslynotedinthisreport, consistentdeliveryofARK instructionwasimpactedby ongoingschedulingdisruptions andotherschool-wide commitments.Manyofthese challengeswereoutsidethe controlofinstructionalstaffand administrators.Inresponse,a strategicmid-yearadjustment wasimplementedtomaintain instructionalqualityandensure theprogramcontinuedtomeet students'needseffectively
Strengths
Picturedaboveisa1 grade studentexcitedtopracticemath skillsonIXL. st
Semester1-Thesmallclasssizeof12studentsmaxperclass. Studentswereexcitedtohaveavarietyofhands-onmaterialsto practicemathskillssuchasbasetenblocks,placevaluecharts, counters,adocumentcameraandaprojector.
IXLwasintroducedandstudentswereabletopracticeskillsonthe computers.
IncreasedengagementinboththeARKsessionsandinthe classroom.
Semester2-Mrs.Millsservedasasupportintheclassroomfor studentsingrade1andworkedwithstrugglingstudentstosimplify conceptstaughtduringwholeclassinstruction.Studentswho neededadditionalsupportwerepulledoutandassistedintheARK classroomwithavarietyofmanipulativesandactivities.
Weaknesses
TheARKunitswerenotsynchronizedwithclassroominstruction, resultinginstudentsnotengagingwiththesameskills simultaneously.Thiscontributedtobreaksinlearningclassroom skillsbeingtaught.
LimitedTimeforInterventionandEnrichment-Mathclasseswere heldonceperweekforeachgradelevel.Whentheprogrampivoted grade1classeswereheldonceperweekandacombinedpull-out sessionwasheldonFridaysforstudentswhorequiredadditional support.
Recommendation:
IncreaseTimeforTargetedSupportandEnrichment
Buildstructuredtimeintothescheduleforbothinterventionand enrichmenttomeettheneedsofstrugglingandadvancedlearners withoutsacrificingcoreinstruction.
MonitorandEvaluatetheImpactofARKSupport
Useformativeassessmentsandprogressmonitoringtoolsto regularlyevaluatetheeffectivenessofARKinterventions,ensuring alignmentwithclassroominstructionandstudentneeds.
LibraryLessons
Studentsingrades1-3havealibrarylessononceaweekforanhourwhere theyaretaughtacharactereducationlesson,libraryskills,andread independentlyfor20minutes.All2ndand3rdgraderscheckoutbooks weekly.
Thelibraryhas3,117booksinthelibraryinventoryforcirculation.AsofAprilit alsonowhasanon-fictionsection!
AschedulewaspreparedtoimplementlibrarytimeeveryotherFridayfor studentsingrades4-6 inthefallterm.Thiswasadjustedduringthespring semestertoallowstudentsfromfirstgradetohaveadditionalreadingand mathintervention.
Strengths
Havingagoodlibrarymanagementsystem,includinganon-fiction section
Agoodvarietyofbooksthatareleveledbyreadingability
Studentsbegantodiscovertheirfavoriteauthors,series,etc.
Aweeklylibraryclassforcharactereducationandinstructiononlibrary skills
Weaknesses
TeachersneededtoberemindedtosendtheirclassforLibraryon theirsetdaysandtimesduetothebiweeklyschedule.
th th
4 -6 onlycheckedoutinthemorningorbreaktimesinthespring timeandcheckoutsdecreased.
Recommendations
Implementshorterdurationforlibraryclassesfor1 -3 .Thisallowsa moreimpactfultimeforyoungerreadersandgives4 gradethe opportunitytohaveascheduledlibraryperiodtocheckoutbooks
Librarylessonscanbeextendedtograde4asaspecialallowingthemto havesufficientcheckouttime
Forgrades5and6-Createarotatingshelf/librarycuratedbythe studentsthemselvesthatconsistsofabout20-30booksperclass.
StudentscanalsocomeintocheckoutbookseveryFridayevery morningandD.E.A.R.time.
ARKLibrary
Schedulefor2025-2026
2025-26
8:45-9:00 9:00-9:15 9
10:40-11:00
11:00-12:00
12:00-1:00
1:30-2:00
2:00-2:30
Future Goals for the ARK Program
TheAcademicRecoveryandKnowledge(ARK)Programwaslaunchedin responsetolearningdisruptionscausedbyHurricaneDorianandthe COVID-19pandemic.Itwasdesignedasanacademicrecoveryinitiative, focusingonreadingandmathematics,thefoundationalpillarsof studentlearning.Astheeducationallandscapecontinuestostabilize,the programisbeingrefinedtoensurelong-term,sustainableacademic supportforallstudentsinneed.
Theprogram’supdateddirectioncentersaroundtwointerwovengoals:
1.SkillReinforcement
Objective:
Toprovidetargeted,just-in-timeinstructionthatalignswithcurrent grade-levelexpectations,ensuringstudentscanmeaningfullyengage withongoingclassroominstruction.
KeyStrategies:
Small-GroupSessions:Conductingsmall,focusedinstructional sessionsthatallowforhighlevelsofstudent-teacherinteraction. CurriculumAlignment:Ensuringthatinterventioncontentmirrors classroomlessonswhilerevisitingprerequisiteknowledge. ProgressMonitoring:Regularlyassessingstudents’understandingof currentcontentandadjustinginstructionasneeded. CollaborationwithClassroomTeachers:ARKinstructorswillwork closelywithgeneraleducationteacherstoalignstrategiesand identifystudentsrequiringimmediatesupport.ThisstartswithARK instructorsintheclassroomforwholeclassinstruction.
ExpectedImpact:
Studentswillbuildconfidenceandimproveperformanceinrealtime, reducingtheneedforfutureremediationandsupportinghigherlevelsof classroomengagementandachievement.
2.FoundationalSkillDevelopment
Objective:
Toaddresslearninggapsthathinderstudentprogression,particularly thoserootedinmissingorunderdevelopedfoundationalskills,evenif thesegapsareunrelatedtocurrentclassroomtopics.
KeyStrategies:
IndividualLearningPlans(ILPs):EachstudentintheARKprogramwill receiveacustomizedILP,basedondiagnosticassessments,that targetstheirspecificlearninggaps.
VerticalSkillMapping:Identifyingandreinforcingskillsfromprevious gradesthatarecrucialforlong-termacademicsuccess.
MultisensoryandDifferentiatedInstruction:Utilizingresearch-based instructionalmethodstoengagevariouslearningstylesandsupport diversestudentneeds.
FlexiblePacing:Allowingstudentstoprogressthroughfoundational skillmodulesattheirownpace,ensuringmasteryratherthan compliance.
ExpectedImpact:
Studentswillrebuildcorecompetenciesinreadingandmath,fostering academicindependenceandlong-termretentionofessentialskills This approachensuresthatstudentsarenotjustcatchinguptemporarilybut arebeingpreparedforsustainedsuccess.