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Success Story: Prosser High School, Prosser, WA

Since adopting the Academy of READING at Washington's Prosser High School, Reading Coordinator Kila Salyers-Smith has seen students achieve up to five years' reading improvement in a single year. She says students may show some initial reluctance when they begin the program, but by the second week, "they are enjoying the class and that reluctance is gone."

"We call our program 'selective' because students do not enroll in it; they are selected for it," Salyers-Smith explains. "The selection process takes place using standardized test scores such as WASL and CTBS, along with STAR scores that are part of the Reading Renaissance and Accelerated Reader programs." She adds, "If students are two or more years behind in their reading levels, they are selected to participate."

Salyers-Smith goes on to say that students are 'graduated out' of the Academy of READING program when they complete the passing requirements. If they subsequently fail a class, they can re-enroll in the program. Academy of READING classes are offered in eight different periods throughout the day, ensuring that any students who need help can get it without missing other classes.

As one of the first high schools in the Pacific Northwest to adopt the Academy of READING program, Prosser has attracted a great deal of attention. "I have had 27 school districts from Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho visit my program," says Salyers-Smith. Salyers-Smith says she is always happy to share her experience of the Academy of READING with other school officials, and to talk about the success of her students which, in her own words, has been "phenomenal."

"To graduate from my class," she explains, "students must reach their own grade level in reading. Of my 101 students last year, 45 graduated. This year I have 240 students enrolled in the program, and I expect at least the same ratio of success. I have neither seen nor heard of any other program that can produce these kinds of results."