Thomas Elementary School teacher Tamika Tatum works with Alexza Conerly . Tatum is part of a district task force for the Every Child is a Reader initiative .
the student is struggling and will be able to address it .
Tatum said educators know how crucial it is for children to be reading by grade level when they ’ re little , because it impacts all other aspects of their education . If a student can ’ t read , they won ’ t be able to do word problems in math or understand the text in any of their other subjects .
“ Our school site is using an RTI ( response to intervention ) model where we ’ re deploying students based on reading level . And so , each of us will be teaching a specific level and skill to help give that targeted instruction while we ’ re also continuing to teach grade-level curriculum ,” Tatum said .
She said the focus at this stage is on phonics and phonemic awareness , which she explained are letters and sounds , and how those sounds work together to build words . This eventually leads to comprehension , when the student starts understanding what they are reading .
Tatum said there is a lot that goes into making sure students stay on the right timeline and no one gets left behind , and while it ’ s difficult at times , it ’ s also equally rewarding .
“ Teachers are working really hard every day to make sure that students are learning and excelling and doing their best ,” Tatum said . “ The goal has always been for kids to be working at their highest potential .”
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