Roosevelt School Recognized for its Significant Contributions to Early Literacy. San Mateo County Reading Association Honors Kindergarten and 1st Grade Teachers

The commitment of Redwood City School District (RCSD) kindergarten and 1st grade teachers at Roosevelt School to the academic success of their students recently earned them the attention of the San Mateo County Reading Association (SMCRA). The association presented Roosevelt School with its 2017 SMCRA Celebrate Literacy Award honoring Roosevelt School and its teachers for their significant contributions to reading instruction and literacy through the school’s Reading and Goal Setting Parent Workshops and Conferences. 

This effort is part of the excellent school wide program that Roosevelt School Principal Dr. Rosemary Wood says builds a solid foundation of reading skills in the primary grades as well as provides a unique opportunity for family involvement.

“I am so happy that our amazing and dedicated teachers received this recognition for their hard work and commitment to building positive relationships with families with a focus on reading,” says Wood.

Roosevelt School’s model of literacy support for families is two tiered. It begins with goal-setting conferences at the beginning of the year and is followed by the parent workshops in early October.  

After students participate in the beginning-of-the-year assessments, each family meets individually with the teacher to discuss baseline data collected regarding their child's performance. Content standards and benchmarks for the three different reporting periods during the year are discussed. The teacher and parents determine and reflect on how much support the child will need to move forward for the rest of the year. Goal setting conferences provide an opportunity for the teacher and each family to create a customized experience for each student. A literacy plan is created for each child to meet their levels and needs.

The workshops are designed to create a seamless academic experience between the home and classroom. The classroom teacher prepares a set of practice materials, and presents the materials to a small group of parents at the workshop. The workshops prepare parents to work with their children in reading and writing. 

Roosevelt School kindergarten teachers launched the program close to a decade ago in 2008. The kindergarten team invited parents to attend a training where they learned how to support and work with their child at home. Teachers prepared and provided the materials for the families at their child’s instructional level in reading. After observing the positive impact the workshops and conferences had with kindergarten families year after year, the first grade team followed their lead and restructured their parent teacher conferences to this model. 

“I applaud the teachers at Roosevelt School for their commitment to the success of our students,” says RCSD Superintendent Dr. John Baker. “As educators, we know that reading at grade level by 3rd grade is an indicator for future academic success. Working with our supportive families, our teachers are setting the foundation for our students and building them a path to be successful.” 

Through the Reading and Goal Setting Parent Workshops and Conferences, Roosevelt School’s dedicated teachers have provided families with an opportunity to work together on literacy skills in reading and writing. 

“This award shows that our teachers go above and beyond to build positive and supportive relationships with families to build a school wide culture with an emphasis of family involvement and reading,” adds Wood.