Elementary Education – Great By Eight
In 2010, Way to Grow partnered with Minneapolis Public Schools to launch the Great by Eight Initiative which expands our proven pre-K programming to include public school students through the important third grade milestone. Studies show a strong correlation between a child’s third grade literacy scores and the chances that the child will either graduate from high school and go on to college, or follow a path of crime and , ultimately, incarceration. By serving children in the Minneapolis Public Schools during these critical first eight years, we hope to lay the groundwork for their success in school and life, and create a better future for our community by reducing cyclical poverty and creating an educated workforce.
The Great by Eight Initiave pilot began in the 2010-2011 school year with 40 kindergarteners at 18 Minneapolis Public Elementary Schools. Way to Grow worked with the students, parents and teachers to ensure they read at age-appropriate instructional reading levels by the end of the academic year. Our newly implemented curriculum systematically moves children from a picture book format in which they are read to, to a format in which they begin to read for themselves. To continue implementation key program components, Way to Grow will:
- Work 1-to-1 with the child in the home and school;
- Provide homework help for parents;
- Nurture connections and strengthen relationships among parents, educators and community supports;
- Create indivdualized plans for each child and family to achieve established academic, health and psychosocial development goals.
Program Evaluation
External and rigorous evaluation is central to the initiative. Measurable objectives of the program include:
- Enrolled students will meet grade level standards
- Enrolled students will read at or above grade level
- Enrolled families will attend 100% of teacher conferences
- Children will receive an annual physical
- Children will attend school 100% of the time.
Over the five-year pilot expansion, Way to Grow will follow and work with children from multiple cohorts and elementary teachers, increasing the level of service and number of children each year. A Way to Grow Family Educator will work with each child and his/her parents and teachers.
In the 2011-2012 school year, we have 40 first graders and 50 Kindergarteners enrolled in the Elementary Education Program.