Thanks to an innovative, bilingual literacy program, USD 501 pre-k-3rd grade students read more than 103 million words and read for over 39,700 hours.

TOPEKA, KS, UNITED STATES, April 3, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- The United States is facing a reading crisis. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported that in 2022, only 32% of 4th-grade students could read proficiently.

Topeka Public Schools (USD 501), whose student body is 33% Hispanic and 17% African-American, has been working to beat these odds. In the 2021-23 school years, Topeka Public Schools has focused on making educational investments to prepare children for academic success at home and in school. Thanks to an innovative, bilingual literacy program, USD 501 pre-k-3rd grade students read more than 103 million words and read for over 39,700 hours during the 2021 – 2023 school years.

Two years ago, Topeka Public Schools selected Footsteps2Brilliance, a bilingual early literacy solution, to create a proactive model for accelerating kindergarten readiness and 3rd-grade reading proficiency. Footsteps2Brilliance is a standards-aligned, game-based solution available in English and Spanish that personalizes instruction and is available to students and their parents via their mobile devices.

As of March 2023, Topeka Public Schools students have achieved a 10-point increase in Phonological Awareness, more than the 5-point increase in Phonics and Language, a 6-point increase in Reading Comprehension, and more than a 4-point gain in Logic and Reasoning.

"Footsteps2Brilliance has been a wonderful program to develop the reading and writing skills of our PreK-3 grade students. Students love the programs, and teachers see the program's impact on student learning," says Robin Dixon, PreK-5 ELA/SS Consulting Teacher.

“We began our work in USD 501 with the focus of building their foundational literacy and reading scores. I am so proud of the outstanding work that their teachers, students, and families have done to fulfill Topeka’s transformative vision. We are honored to be their partner in this endeavor,” says Ilene Rosenthal, CEO, Footsteps2Brilliance.

Enlisting the support of families, schools, and community partners is at the heart of USD 501’s strategic vision to create an equitable birth through a 3rd-grade ecosystem. And the impact is clear. Topeka Public Schools is seeing significant literacy gains and developing a model for early childhood that can be adopted in other leading school districts to address learning loss and accelerated reading proficiency.

ABOUT TOPEKA USD
Topeka Public Schools strives to achieve academic excellence, focus on post-secondary and career success, and achievement in the arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities. Strengthened by diversity and a welcoming and inclusive environment, our district will cultivate partnerships with staff, families, businesses, and industry, and the greater community to develop students' educational, physical, and social-emotional well-being.

ABOUT FOOTSTEPS2BRILLIANCE, INC.
Footsteps2Brilliance, Inc. is the breakthrough early learning platform that accelerates early literacy achievement by uniting the power of mobile gaming technology with the latest in cognitive research. Footsteps2Brilliance provides enticing, interactive, 24/7 learning experiences that digitally link school and home to give students the edge they need for success in school today and the world tomorrow. For further information contact: info@footsteps2brilliance.com.

Michael Fleischner
Footsteps2Brilliance
+1 609-477-8677
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