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Believe & Read

Advancing student literacy from page one

Reading is the foundation for educational success and life opportunities. In the early grades, students learn to read. By the third grade, they are reading to learn. Yet, 60% of all American students are not reading at grade level by the third grade. The average number of struggling readers in our Catholic schools is closer to 20%. While this is certainly better than the national average, it’s not good enough for us. 

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We have found a solution to this challenge. It’s a partnership with Groves Learning Organization, a national expert in reading instruction, and Cretin-Derham Hall Catholic High School. We call it Believe and Read. It is a three-year program that transforms literacy instruction through outstanding professional development and teacher coaching. Believe and Read helps launch ALL students to the next level, supporting both struggling readers and high fliers.

In the first two years of the pilot, every student was reading at or beyond grade level by year two. The most recent results show the continued impact on young readers:

Success by the numbers

This data from Groves Learning Organization is based on 1,939 students grades 1-3 across 33 Believe and Read schools supported by the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence.

Join us in supporting lifelong readers!

 

Help students like Henry

Henry, a student at Holy Spirit Catholic School in St. Paul, struggled with reading.

“Upon entering first grade, Henry struggled with basic reading concepts,” says his mom, Meg Schneeman. “Even tackling simple readers was a battle.”

Fortunately, Henry was the beneficiary of Believe and Read.

“Through the initiative, my son is now a proficient reader. He even writes his own stories,” Schneeman says. “To me, having a child who wants to read and write in his spare time is the best success we could have gotten.”

Participating Believe and Read Catholic schools:

AnnunciationBlessed TrinityCarondelet | Divine Mercy |  Epiphany | Frassati Catholic Academy | Good Shepherd | Holy Cross | Holy Spirit | Holy Trinity | Immaculate Conception | Mary Queen of Peace |  Maternity of Mary-Saint Andrew | Most Holy Redeemer | Nativity of Our Lord | Our Lady of Grace | Our Lady of Peace | Risen Christ |  Sacred Heart | Saint Alphonsus | Saint Ambrose | Saint Bart’s | Saint Dominic | Saint Francis Xavier |  Saint Helena | Saint Jerome | Saint John Paul II Catholic School | Saint John School of Little Canada | Saint John the Baptist, Jordan | Saint John the Baptist, Savage | Saint John the Baptist, Vermillion |  Saint Joseph C-STEM School | Saint Joseph | Saint Michael | Saint Peter | Saint Peter Claver | Saint Raphael | Saint Stephen’s |  Saint Therese | Saint Thomas More | Saint Vincent de Paul |  Shakopee Area Catholic School |  Transfiguration | Visitation