Earlier this week, we were excited to welcome Senator Cronin, Representative Kilcoyne, and Senator Kennedy to our schools, where they had the chance to tour the classrooms in the towns they represent. During their visits, we showcased how our PRISM I grant is supporting our early literacy work and making a tangible impact in our classrooms.
The legislators toured kindergarten, first, and second grade classrooms at Mary Rowlandson and Florence Sawyer. During their visits, they were able to see how our students are benefiting from high-quality, evidence-based instructional materials like Wilson Fundations and EL Education, which are central aspects of our literacy efforts.
Further, as one of only 15 PRISM I districts in Massachusetts, we have been able to invest in high-quality instructional materials grounded in the science of reading. These curricula are designed to build strong foundations in phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This funding supports professional learning for our educators, ensuring our early literacy materials are implemented effectively, and expands our ability to to implement early literacy supports through targeted tutoring and intervention.
As evidenced by our universal literacy screening assessments, the PRISM I grant supports our ability to build alignment across classrooms, support more intentional instruction, and increase access to high-quality learning experiences for every student. With the combination of top-tier materials, professional learning, and targeted interventions, we are seeing real improvements in student outcomes, particularly in fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and phonemic awareness.
We would like to extend a thank you to our legislators for their support of the PRISM I grant, and for taking the time to view this important work. Additionally, we would like to extend our gratitude to our kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers, for opening their doors to showcase the early literacy work they do each day!