Step.- The latest in a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening early literacy among El Paso ISD students launched this week when community members visited 11 campuses to read to first graders.
Literacy First, a project involving weekly reading sessions between a volunteer and 2-5 students, began Monday, April 10 at Aoy, Zavala, Cooley, Hawkins, Park, Powell, Whitaker, Duran, Herrera, Putnam and Zach White. . Visits by the 31 community volunteers will take place over the course of six weeks during the student enrichment period. All volunteers participated in training conducted by El Paso ISD educators prior to meeting with students.
“Kids start learning from the moment they are inside their mommy’s tummy,” said Marivel Macias, El Paso ISD director of equity. “They learn from everyone and everything they encounter. The Literacy First initiative calls for community volunteers to contribute and donate their time to read with an El Paso ISD student. It takes a town to raise a child and it takes a volunteer willing to donate their time to instill a love of reading in a student.”
At Cooley Elementary School, parent and volunteer Dayela Gillespie was one of the first to sign up to read for the initiative. She read “Pete the Cat” to a small group of students in the school library.
“I have one of my sons who is on AIM and he has a lot of trouble pronouncing words and reading. I felt like there might be other first graders who, like my kids, love to read but have a hard time reading,” she said. “I hope they get more excited about going home with a book and saying to their parents, ‘Can we read this?'”
Dr. Melissa Ortega, District 1 representative to the State Board of Education, is part of the list of volunteers who will read to the students. She said that improving early literacy is an important facet of young learner development.
“Volunteers reading to children in our El Paso community are tremendously important because reading to students builds all kinds of literacy skills,” Ortega said. “This includes your emotional well-being, builds character, increases empathy, and enhances feelings of happiness, contentment, and joy. I am honored and delighted to participate in this program.”
Literacy First comes on the heels of the spring launch of Buenas Noches, El Paso, a virtual literacy initiative featuring notable figures from El Paso ISD and the community reading children’s books online. To view the entire Good Night El Paso series, visit episd.org/goodnight.
“Providing these enriching literacy opportunities for our students will help not only strengthen their reading skills, but also develop a lifelong love of reading,” said Diana Sayavedra, El Paso ISD superintendent. “We are grateful for our partners who have donated their time to read for Buenas Noches, El Paso, and participate in Literacy First. Together, we can instill a lifelong love of literacy.”
In addition to outreach, El Paso ISD has also developed a new literacy instructional framework to increase students’ opportunities to thrive. The district partnered with The New Teacher Project to design a framework that supports literacy and biliteracy, creates an optimal learning environment, and increases student success in the literacy foundations: reading, writing, listening, and speaking oral.
To meet this end, El Paso ISD established a Literacy Design Team in January. The team, made up of teachers, librarians, campus instructional coaches, campus and district leaders, and other educational personnel, was led by Dr. Jacqueline Kennedy, the district’s chief academic officer. The team met multiple times throughout the semester and finalized a framework that will also be used to assess and improve alignment of instructional materials and professional learning supports, while making clear connections to new changes in the curriculum. STAAR redesign.
All of these initiatives align with El Paso ISD’s emphasis on the development of the whole child, which is a focal point of its recently adopted Hopes and Dreams Realized 2022-2025 strategic plan. One of the essential actions outlined in the document is the use of the Community Schools model to create an integrated system of school support, expand learning opportunities, and community partnerships.
