Stacy Stull Principal of STC Elementary

Stacy Stull, Principal of STC Elementary, submitted the D-Cat grant and was awarded funding through the Department of Human Services serving Jasper, Poweshiek, and Tama Counties. This grant will help the school, teachers, students, and parents prepare for the State’s Early Literacy Implementation law.

Stull believes, “This grant will help to strengthen the services we provide our students for summer school. I am excited to be able to lengthen our summer school day and provide more instruction in reading for our struggling learners.” Under this Early Literacy law, Iowa schools need to provide a intensive reading program in the summer for “any student who in not proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade beginning in 2017. If a student who is not proficient does not attend the summer reading program and does not qualify for a good clause exemption”, the student will be retained in the 3rd grade.

Since the implementation of this law in 2014, STC Elementary has begun testing all students to determine their reading proficiency, implemented longer literacy blocks in the school day, improved interventions and progress monitoring, and has requested that some students attend summer school.

To ready the school and families, and intervene before students are forced into retention, STC Elementary is proposing an extension to the current summer school program starting in 2016. The school will increase the length of the summer school day and provide summer enrichment and incentives through Friday field trips.

Summer school will also offer 75 hours of researched-based reading instruction, usually only found during the regular school year. This year summer school would run from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm. Students entering grades 1 through 4 (current Kindergarteners through 3rd graders) who are below proficiency in reading will be eligible to attend the 6-week summer school program. Details will be available to interested parents early this spring.