BVSD board hears update
The Boulder Valley School District is ready to pilot a dyslexia screening tool after the coronavirus pandemic delayed the initial timeline.
The screener, which will be given to all kindergarten students at 10 pilot schools, is expected to identify students who show a general potential for reading difficulty and could benefit from extra support. A universal dyslexia screening tool was requested by parent advocates.
The Boulder Valley school board heard updates Tuesday on both the dyslexia screener pilot and the University of Virginia’s school improvement work with three elementary schools.
For the pilot, the district is using the free Mississippi dyslexia screening tool. The initial plan was to screen students in March and April at pilot schools, but school closures put the pilot on hold.
The district now plans to have four hearing and vision staff members administer the screener to students at 10 schools starting Oct. 26. Students learning from home will be screened remotely.
The pilot schools are Bear Creek, Mesa, University Hill, Superior, Foothill, Fireside, Lafayette, Horizons K-8, Louisville and Douglas. For Spanish-speaking students at University Hill, a bilingual school, and other schools, paraeducators and interventionists will administer a Spanish version of the screening tool.
In person, the screener is administered one-to-one, with the student and adult spaced 6 feet apart and both wearing masks.
New materials will be provided for each student. Each individual session is expected to take fewer than 15 minutes.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects language processing and can range from mild to severe.
The screening tool doesn’t diagnose dyslexia, but instead identifies students who need to be watched more closely by teachers and may need more evaluation.
Michelle Qazi, Boulder Valley’s reading director, said the district already uses the Wilson “Fundations” literacy program in kindergarten through second grade, which is shown by research to be effective with students with dyslexia.
Teachers, literacy specialists and special education teachers also are trained in specific programs designed for students with dyslexia who need more intensive help, she said.
“We have the best instruction for these students already in place,” she said. “We want to identify students.”
If the screener works as anticipated, the district plans to administer it at 24 schools in fall 2021, then at all schools in fall 2022.
For the school improvement work, Alicia Sanchez Elementary in Lafayette and Columbine Elementary in Boulder started working with the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education program a year ago. The work is funded by a $362,577, three-year school improvement grant from the Colorado Department of Education.
Both schools have lower scores on statewide tests than other district elementary schools, as well as growth scores that are lower than the state average. They also have the highest percentages of low-income students of the district’s elementary schools.
Starting this fall, Broomfield’s Kohl Elementary also began working with the University of Virginia, with a focus on improving its growth scores, especially for low-income students and students of color.
The work includes increasing student and family engagement, using best teaching practices and using student data to target instruction.
“Our students have so much promise,” said Columbine principal Bianca Gallegos. “They deserve our best.”
District leadership also is providing more support and resources to the three schools.
“Different schools need different resources,” said Robbyn Fernandez, assistant superintendent of school leadership. “We spend far, far more time at Columbine and Sanchez and Kohl.”