Intellectual Engagement and Autonomy: The Keys to Developing Proficient Readers

Frank Hernandez • Cahn Fellow 2019

PS 49X Willis Ave School was one of the lowest performing schools in District 7, located in the poorest congressional in the South Bronx. A new vision, direction, and commitments among others led to a steady increase in student achievement in literacy and mathematics. However, after several years of consistent increase in student performance in both literacy and mathematics, stagnant performance in literacy scores over the past two years have established a sense of urgency. These results have allowed us to reexamine, rethink, and reform the way we teach, lead, and learn, specifically in reading. In 2017, 36% of the students were proficient and in the year 2018, 36% of students were proficient on the New York State ELA exam. As such, our project focused on intellectually engaging our scholars and promoting autonomous readers to increase student achievement for all learners, as measured by grade level performance on literacy assessments.