October 23, 2023 | By: Halena Sepulveda at Spectrum News 1
According to the Nation’s Report Card, 33% of fourth-grade students performed at or above proficiency levels in 2022, which was 2% less compared to 2019.
“Post-pandemic we’ve really figured out that we need to target exactly what our kids need and our curriculum has allowed us to do that,” said Katie Carrasquillo, fourth grade teacher and instructional leader at Rochester Prep Elementary Jay Street Campus.
“We have lots of love happening within our classrooms but also our academic programming is really rigorous and meeting all the needs of our students to get to college and beyond,” said Danielle Hinman, principal at Rochester Prep Elementary’s Jay Street campus. “Reading is not like a sprint. We’re not going to see overnight growth, we are gonna see an elongated continuum of learning. What we know in third and fourth grade is that they are actually applying the skills and reading to learn and so that’s where that deeper comprehension comes into play.”
Which is why Rochester Prep has turned to focus more on individual needs.
It’s a difference in focus that Katie can see in her students.
“They’re feeling way more confident, I mean all their hands were up, they knew the skill,” she said. “They’re feeling confident because we’re meeting them where they’re at.”
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