SDP held three Early Literacy Summer Institutes between 2015-2017. Teachers attended these Institutes as part of the Early Literacy Specialist (ELS) initiative, which also provided early literacy coaching and leveled libraries for K-3 classrooms. The purpose of the Institute was to prepare teachers to implement the District’s Balanced Literacy Framework, enhance their knowledge of best practices in early literacy, and improve the teaching practices of participants through high-quality professional development.

ORE used three primary sources of data to examine the effectiveness of each Literacy Summer Institute: Early Literacy Knowledge (ELK) Pre- and Post-Assessments, a Daily Satisfaction Survey, and Session Observations. The report analyzes these data to respond to the following research questions:

1. How does teacher knowledge of early literacy practices change after participating in Institute? Are changes in knowledge consistent across cohorts?
2. How do changes in teacher knowledge differ by ELK constructs and across individual questions?
3. How do pre- and post- ELK assessment scores differ by years of teaching experience?
4. Were participants satisfied with the quality of the professional development offered at Institute? What additional feedback did teachers provide?
5. How did the observers from the Office of Research and Evaluation rate the quality of the sessions?

Use the button below to download the 109-page report, or click here to read a 2-page executive summary.