3/15/2020

Ensuring Equitable Education in the Chicago Public Schools

Ensuring Equitable Education in the Chicago Public Schools

Equity is at the heart of the Chicago Public Schools’ 5 Year Vision of Success — as the third-largest school district in the United States, the Chicago Public School District is determined to ensure that all of their students are given the same opportunity to succeed. In fact, 93% of their 2020 capital budget dollars have been approved to go towards programs for schools whose student population is majority low-income. Additionally, the district has adopted a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, which includes methods of both instruction and intervention for those students who require additional, explicit, and more focused instruction to meet academic and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) requirements. 

How Lexia Helps

Lexia® Core5® Reading is approved by the Chicago Public Schools and is designed to help students in grades Pre-K–5 become proficient readers and confident learners. This technology-based literacy program allows students to build fundamental reading skills by working online at their own pace. Each activity incorporates instructional branching, providing immediate support only when needed. Progress bars, animations, and the ability to repeat directions further strengthen students’ self-monitoring and executive functioning skills. To support autonomy for English language learners, directions for Core5 are available in Spanish, Mandarin, Haitian, Creole, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Portuguese. 

Lexia® PowerUp Literacy® helps educators simultaneously address gaps in fundamental literacy skills while helping students build the higher-order skills they need to comprehend, analyze, evaluate, and compare increasingly complex literary and informational texts. Designed for struggling and non-proficient readers in grades 6 and above, PowerUp blends online instruction with offline teacher-delivered lessons and activities. 

“I think that literacy is life or death and I am only slightly exaggerating. I cannot tell you how many students I have seen in my lifetime who struggle in school. I feel like it almost always goes back to their literacy abilities. When students continually strive and fail, they come to see themselves as the “bad kids” and avoid taking academic risks. I’ve also seen kids who’ve received the reading instruction and support they needed and they’ve completely changed. Lexia® PowerUp Literacy®is a technology-based literacy program for adolescents that is working for my students by teaching them foundational literacy skills at a pace and level that is right for each of them. They are becoming leaders, are more successful in the classroom, and are excited about making progress. To influence this kind of change for students is why I became a teacher and why I will continue to use PowerUp.”

—Steven Benjamin
Sixth-grade Humanities and Special Education Teacher
Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School
Boston Public School District
Boston, MA

Assessment Without Testing® 

As students work within Core5 and PowerUp, real-time performance data is collected through Lexia’s patented embedded assessment tool, Assessment Without Testing®. Educators can access their students’ data reports online through their myLexia accounts on a computer, phone, or tablet. Within the myLexia reports, educators can find a data-driven action plan for each student. These action plans identify the skill areas in which a student is currently working, along with specific skills he or she needs to work on. 

Supporting Teachers and Driving Academic Gains With Lexia’s Implementation Services and Other Resources

Implementing a new program can be difficult, but Lexia’s team of implementation experts partner with you to develop a year-long, personalized implementation plan that takes your specific needs into account. Research has shown that students using Lexia® Core5® Reading in schools with site Customer Success Services and who use the program with fidelity are five times more likely to reach their end-of-year, grade-level benchmarks in the program than those using the program a minimal amount. 

Additionally, Lexia Academy offers teachers an eLearning platform that supports educators’ professional growth with meaningful and relevant learning opportunities — anytime, anywhere. Courses in Lexia Academy are structured with incremental learning segments to help busy educators integrate resources and strategies to support blended learning, literacy instruction, and product implementation.
 

“Lexia is amazing! Not only do they provide a high-quality, technology-based literacy program, but they have supported us each step of the way with a seamless implementation plan and solid training.” 

—Jan Eckola

Director of Instruction 

Lake Geneva J1 School District

Lake Geneva, WI

With research-proven literacy programs and instructional support, educators in Chicago can ensure that all students are given an equal opportunity to succeed.