Literacy Rates Rise in Rocky Mountain Conference Schools Thanks to Neuroscience
28 October 2024 |
The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) is in its fourth year of addressing literacy in education by instituting monthly reading professional development activities in half of the conference’s elementary schools. October 14 was the latest training session, held at Vista Ridge Academy (VRA) in Erie, Colorado. 25 educators from eight RMC schools gathered to apply research-based practices for the students.
Entitled “Unlocking the Code,” the program addresses the dropping literacy rates and poor reading comprehension found in students. The monthly training sessions allow teachers to assess and establish academic success in students. Reading comprehension is the foundation for all learning; therefore, literacy is a crucial topic for early education that must be maintained throughout their education. The program itself was spearheaded by Trish Martin, a speech pathologist and founder and president of Neuroplasticity and Education United (NEU). Adventist Review, which covered the program, stated, “She has created successful integration of techniques of rewiring the brain with daily literacy instruction. Elements of the program include ‘Unlocking the Reading Code,’ ‘Grammar Code,’ ‘Spelling Code,’ and ‘Writing Code.’”
The program launched just as COVID struck, leading the monthly meetings to be virtual. Fortunately, last spring allowed for in-person sessions to take place, with teachers undergoing intensive training to run the program and mark student progress.
The program has flourished since its inception four years ago, with the RMC schools seeing marked improvement in reading scores, engagement, and overall confidence in the classroom. Dr. Martin’s framing of data and neuroscience with compassion has helped young learners break down phonics, increase memory, and process information, leading to a firm foundation for later education.