GPRA 2.2  Number and percentage of students at or above grade level according to State English language arts assessments in at least the grades required by the ESEA

Definition. This GPRA indicator measures the number and share of students who test proficient or advanced (or comparable categories for each site’s state assessments) for the English language arts assessments for students in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. Promise Neighborhoods should rely on the high school grade identified by their school district.

Until the 2021-2022 school year, STEPS AK used the PEAKS assessment tool for this indicator (reported above). In 2021, the state of Alaska transitioned to a new statewide academic assessment system, AK STAR.

NEW RESULTS NOT COMPARABLE TO PREVIOUS RESULTS.

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Reading Tutors (K-3):

Hydaburg provided targeted reading support to 40 students.

Juneau, in partnership with United Way, pairs struggling readers in Kindergarten through 3rd grade with volunteer mentors who come to the school 1-2 times per week to work with students individually or in small groups. Due to staff turnover, United Way was not able to provide mentors in fall 2022, however, plans to begin serving Juneau schools with this program again in spring 2023.

Sitka School District’s Reading Tutor program was provided through AmeriCorps members who supported primary reading initiatives in the morning before school.

See GPRA 2.1 narrative for more information about the rest of our programming that impacts academic achievement (math and reading).

Unfortunately, the state of Alaska transitioned its academic assessment tool during the 2021-2022 school year, and the new system is not comparable with the previous one. We are not able to assess our results for this indicator in context. We also were not yet able to obtain any demographic breakdowns for proficiency rates from the state. However, it is unlikely that much has changed in one year since the last assessment results were reported.

Activities reported in 2.1 are mutually reinforcing toward our results for 2.2. We only implement one specific solution that is specifically targeting K-12 reading. However, much of the work that we do, reported in other areas (2.1, 7, 9.2) is designed to support overall academic acheivement, including math and ELA proficiency.

The primary goal of the reading tutor program is literacy support to reach students in the early years (K-3) to help them to read at grade level by 3rd grade.

In addition to the Reading Tutors program, all of our partners are engaging students in culturally responsive literacy activities. For example, Hydaburg used their NWEA MAPP scores to help students understand their own language and reading levels. School staff also used this as ways to develop relevant content and personalized supports. Hydaburg language arts and social studies courses were centered around Native American approaches to learning.

Some successes:

• Alaska passed the Alaska Reads Act, calling on schools to implement strategies based on the science of reading. In June 2022, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed the Alaska Reads Act into law, creating four new programs to support early literacy. The new programs of the Alaska Reads Act together with Department of Education and Early Learning (DEED) efforts previously underway are both incorporated into Alaska’s Strategic Reading Plan. Full implementation and roll out of these regulations are underway.

Some challenges:

We continue to have long-term reverberations of Covid-19 in terms of staffing and volunteering.

• Reading tutors hampered by lack of volunteers in both Sitka and Juneau. Both communities leaned on Americorps volunteers to supplement the Reading Tutors program. Americorps volunteer numbers are down, likely in part due to the fact that it is very easy to get a higher paying, permanent job in the current labor market where there is an extreme shortage of workers. Meanwhile older adults who may have volunteered in years past are still among the most cautious about being around groups of people, especially school-aged kids who are notorious for spreading illnesses. The Alaska Reads Act, while helpful for building the commitment to improving literacy, has also created new requirements. As schools spend time figuring out how to meet these new requirements, there is even less capacity at a school level to coordinate volunteer tutors.

Please see GPRA 2.1 as our strategies are aligned across these two GPRA areas.