About 35% of students at DSST Public Schools are Multilingual Learners (MLL), and many have additional needs when it comes to proficiency in literacy. DSST believes that every student deserves equitable and excellent education. That is why we have dedicated Literacy Interventionists who work to close the gap for MLL students, as well as students who need additional support in literacy work.
DSST’s Literacy Interventionists work with small student groups to help improve their reading skills, such as letter-naming, phoneme segmentation and comprehension strategies. This dedicated attention has deeply impacted these students’ education by giving them the confidence and skills they need to flourish.
Ciann Marie San Nicolas, a Literacy Interventionist at Aurora Science & Tech Middle School, has been deeply impacted by her work with the students. She shared why she is committed to the work of literacy:
“This work is important to me because reading intervention is equity work. For most of the students that I teach, all they need is the literacy 'key' to be unlocked and the way to do that is explicit, systematic literacy instruction. Being able to read proficiently is vital not only for a student's academic life, but for all endeavors.”
She added, “The students are absolutely amazing. They are the reason why – no matter how difficult or taxing this job gets – I come back every single day. The look on their faces when they are becoming more confident in themselves as academics, or realizing that they can read, is my why. Their success is my success.”
Ciann’s hope is that literacy work at DSST continues to grow. “One of the things that all of us ‘literventionists’ struggle with is knowing that the needs are high at our respective campuses, and there is only one of us per school. Ideally, we would have at least two literacy interventionists in both the middle school AND the high school level.”
Student testimonials:
Guadalupe: “Reading intervention helped me because I got better at reading. I remember when my dad would ask me to write things for his work, and I would always have to ask Siri. By the end of the year, I only had to ask Siri sometimes because I knew how to read and write better. I’m able to read books and not just watch the movies, which is nicer. In class, I would be so nervous to raise my hand. And now, I raise my hand and it’s been nice to get a better grade instead of just sitting in the back.”
Patricia Jacques: “It helped me by reading more and understanding what I read more. It helped me be a better writer.”
Esther: “Reading intervention helped me overcome my fear of reading aloud and talking in front of everybody.”
Shuram Jumale: “I like to do the sorts (activity) and the reading. I like remembering the letters and telling the teacher the words I know in my brain. This class is important to me because I like being in here. It makes me feel happy and I love to learn the letters in the alphabet and the word sorts. I'm getting good at the alphabet and that's why I like this class.”
DSST has many student opportunities like this. If you would like to learn more about the network or donate to help students like Shuram and Guadalupe, click here. DSST gratefully recognizes the Sturm Family Foundation for the ongoing support of our literacy intervention programming.