Fort Smith Public Schools – Online Summer Reading Camp

Arkansas, Elementary School Results, Reading, Seeing Stars, Summer School

Fort Smith Public Schools in Fort Smith, Arkansas, serves a large percentage of students at risk of reading failure. During the summer of 2020, Fort Smith Public Schools implemented a 4-week online reading camp providing Lindamood-Bell® instruction to address this student population’s specific needs. To develop symbol imagery for reading, 14 students received an average of 37 hours of online Seeing Stars® small-group intensive instruction. The instruction was delivered by Fort Smith Public Schools teachers who received professional development in the program authored by LindamoodBell’s founders. A battery of nationally normed reading assessments measured student gains.

RESULTS

Students receiving Seeing Stars® instruction achieved large standard score changes in Symbol Imagery, Word Attack, and Word Recognition, reflecting nearly a year’s growth by age and grade level. The results of this study illustrate that Lindamood-Bell® instruction in the Seeing Stars® program leads to improved reading, which is essential to achieving success with school curricula.

PROFILE: Online Summer Reading Camp

Number of Students: 14

Average Age: 9.9

Average Hours of Instruction: 37.6

Programs Implemented: Seeing Stars

Outcome Measures:

• Symbol Imagery Test

• Woodcock-Johnson Word Attack

• Wide-Range Achievement Test – Reading