My name is Kallia and I am a returning WRC member serving at Madison Elementary in Olympia. I work with children who are in Kindergarten through 5th grade in small groups throughout the day. 

One of my small groups consists of a before school program. I have three students in my before school program. We read stories, play phonics games, work on decoding skills and fluency together. 

One of my kid’s in the group is named Ryan. His scores are below reading level for 2nd grade. We decided to add him to the program so that he could get extra time outside of regular school time to work on his reading. In the beginning, he was very hesitant to read aloud. It was a struggle for him to decode with ease which I believe made him self-conscious. It was apparent to me in his whispering when he read, especially when he got to words with double vowels. 

Over the weeks, I was able to really focus with him on his reading, phonics, decoding skills and fluency. I also made a personal connection with Ryan. Now, he is willing to read without hesitation. He feels confident and is even willing to take a risk, even if he doesn’t know a word. His whole attitude has changed within group! Ms.Estcourt, the Reading Intervention teacher, has Ryan in her groups during the school day. She also has noticed a difference from having added support in the morning. At the beginning of the year, he tested at 19 CWPM and in February he tested at 67 CWPM. I started with him in January in which he was at 50 CWPM. He has grown 17 points!