2021 Primer Journal

Page 28

Massachusetts Reading Association Primer Massachusetts Reading Association Primer December 2021 vol. 49. No.2 December 2021 vol. 49. No.2

From Loss to Opportunity: How One School Accelerated the Reading of Rising Second Graders Laurie Higgins Reading Resource, Wilkins Elementary School, Stoughton, MA Kathleen Monahan Principal, Wilkins Elementary School, Stoughton, MA

Educators want to fix things. We are constantly analyzing problems and thinking

about the best ways to solve them. When faced with the statistics coming out of the pandemic year, we are overwhelmed with what can be perceived as “problems.” We have been bombarded with stories of “learning loss,” and no one understands this better than teachers. But what if we shifted our thinking from that of loss to opportunity; from that of deficit to growth? That’s exactly what we did at the Richard L. Wilkins Elementary School in Stoughton, MA, and it worked! Background

The Covid-19 pandemic required educators nationwide to change their approach

to education. In an instant, schools were shut down, and education, as we knew it, changed overnight in March of 2020. Districts scrambled to determine the best ways to educate their students, but admittedly student and staff health and safety took priority. As the summer of 2020 approached, districts were tasked with creating educational plans for numerous scenarios. With Covid-19 still greatly impacting most communities, these

28

From Loss to Opportunity: How One School Accelerated the Reading of Rising Second Graders


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.