Fort Smith Public Schools—Update on K-2 Elementary Students

Arkansas, District Wide, Elementary School Results, Istation ISIP Universal Screener, K-2

Fort Smith Public Schools in Fort Smith, AR, serves a large percentage of students who are at-risk of reading failure. During the 2017-18, 2018-19, and through mid-year of the 2019-20 school years, Fort Smith Public Schools implemented Lindamood-Bell® instruction to address the specific needs of this student population. Teachers at Fort Smith Public Schools received professional development in the programs created by Lindamood-Bell’s founders: Seeing Stars, to develop symbol imagery for reading, and Visualizing and Verbalizing, to develop concept imagery for comprehension. Students in grades K-2 received 15 minutes of daily instruction in a whole classroom Tier 1 setting as a supplement to core reading instruction. Student gains were measured with the IStation ISIP Universal Screener.

RESULTS
Longitudinal data reflect an increase in the number of students scoring in the highest tier (Tier 1) and a decrease of students scoring in the lowest tier (Tier 3). This change dramatically alters the capacity of the district to provide intervention to its most at-risk readers. The results of this study illustrate that Lindamood-Bell instruction in the Seeing Stars and Visualizing and Verbalizing programs leads to improved reading, which is essential to achieving success with school curricula.

PROFILE: K-2 Elementary Students

Grade Levels: Kindergarten-2nd Grade
Programs Implemented:

• Seeing Stars®
• Visualizing and Verbalizing®

Outcome Measures: IStation ISIP Universal Screener