Districts in Illinois and Wisconsin have recently implemented the personalized instructional technology of Lexia Reading® Core5®.
Berwyn South School District 100 in Illinois deployed Lexia Reading Core5 across all elementary schools at the beginning of the 2014–15 school year.
“When we had the opportunity to implement Lexia with our district-wide Apple iPad® and MacBook® laptop program, we had no hesitation whatsoever,” said Colleen Cummings, director of special education at Berwyn South School District 100. “Our struggling readers needed a structured reading program like Lexia that applies proven research, science and methodologies to accelerate fundamental literacy skills acquisition. By providing our students with this relevant program for literacy, coupled with our 1:1 devices, we believe we now have all the right pieces in place so that learning never stops. And the data is echoing that fact.”
Mid-year results from Berwyn South School District 100 show progress among students who were categorized as high risk of not meeting end-of-year benchmarks. When they consistently met their personalized recommended minutes on the program, the number of at-risk students was reduced by more than half—from 32 percent to 15 percent between September 2014 and February 2015. “Our decision to add a more personalized approach to teaching is making a huge impact in helping each of our students become better readers,” said Cummings.
Lexia Reading Core5 is based on 30 years of educational research and designed to provide a personalized learning path for each student, including scaffolding and instruction that supports students if they struggle. Each of the 18 levels of skill-specific activities aligns to state standards, including the Common Core State Standards.
Joining Berwyn South as a 1:1 district using Lexia Reading Core 5 is West Allis-West Milwaukee School District in Wisconsin. Jill Ries, the district’s K-12 instructional services coordinator, decided to use Lexia Reading Core5 for all pre-K-5 students across the district because of the prescriptive nature of the system.
“Everyone benefits from using Lexia; above grade-level students get enrichment and our struggling readers get far more than a phonics or decoding program—they get a comprehensive tool that has all the right components for personalized learning and teacher-led instruction that drives substantial gains,” she said.
“We’re at an exciting place right now in education,” said Nick Gaehde, President of Lexia Learning. “We remain committed to enabling teachers to engage with students in ways previously not possible, while offering improved options for supporting students with a wide range of learning needs.”
