The Impact

Springboard Summer 2018

Springboard Summer is an intensive, five week literacy program that combines daily reading instruction for Pre-K through 3rd graders; weekly workshops training parents to teach reading at home; a rigorous coaching cycle for teachers; and an incentive structure that awards learning tools—from books to tablets—in proportion to reading progress.

I’m worried about Henry’s reading skills.

I heard they have Springboard Summer in Fresno now. My daughter and I did the program in Oakland last year, and her reading got so much better!

Disclaimer: Summer story quotes are real but the names of participants have been changed.

Chapter 1

Enrollment & demographics

Welcome to the first day of Springboard! Our class has older and younger students, all with similar reading needs. What grade are you in, Henry?

I just finished 1st grade! How old are the other kids?

PARTICIPANT AGE

Grade level completed before summer began

Pre k Kindergarten 1st grade 2nd grade 3rd grade 4th grade and higher

Wow, what a diverse group of students!

Totally! 31% of them speak another language at home. Do you?

HOME LANGUAGE

English Spanish Mandarin Vietnamese Other

RACE AND ETHNICITY

Black Hispanic/Latino Race/ethnicity unreported Other/Multiracial Asian White

¡Hablamos español! Carlos does too. I met him earlier today.

Summer Stories

Springing into English

“My son [Carlos] was on the waiting list. For me, the fact that he was accepted to Springboard was such a blessing because my son is learning to speak English and we just arrived to this country about a year ago. I am very happy that he was evaluated, so that I know what reading level he is at and he can advance much more in his reading.” —Maria
[translated from Spanish]

I’ll see you after class, Henry. Thanks, Mrs. Martínez!

Don’t forget, our first parent workshop is on Wednesday morning! See you soon!

Chapter 2

Family engagement

Dad, will you come read with me and help me with the hard words?

Of course! Our goal today is to read for 25 minutes together. We’ll sound the tough words out.

On average, Springboard Summer helped families fit an additional 50 minutes of at-home reading time into their weekly schedules:

Independent reading time

Before Springboard During Springboard

Reading with an adult

Before Springboard During Springboard

Teachers were coached to create individualized student action plans. Through this framework, they identify the single lever that will most help each child reach the next reading level, and they plan aligned support strategies for the classroom and the home. 99% of Springboard families received a customized action plan for their child!

Remember what your action plan said? Make sure you’re stopping and looking at the first letter of the word and to sound that word out! And what do we do when we get stuck?

I use the pictures to help me! This word starts with “s.” S-u-n. Sun!

Attendance

Can you guess parent workshop attendance this summer?

You're right!

Actually!

87%

of Springboard families attended the program regularly this summer!

Family workshop highlights

Percentage of families who saw their child’s reading improve during the program:

Percentage of families who learned new reading strategies to use at home:

More than two-thirds of Springboard families received a home visit from their child’s teacher, laying the foundation for a strong partnership.

Summer Stories

Learning to teach

“It’s really good to get help here because I have a hard time reading at home with my son. The workshops were informative, and I learned how to help my son more at home.” —Caleb

Wow, it sounds like Caleb learned so much! I hope I reach my reading goal, too!

Chapter 3

Reading growth

Good morning, Mr. Jones!

I’m so proud of the work your kids did this year. It looks like 70% of the scholars began the program below grade-level expectations. Where did they end the summer?

Reading growth

Springboard scholars replaced the typical 3-month summer regression with an average 6.2-month reading gain!

End of school year Typical end of summer 3-month loss After Springboard 6.2-month gain

Kids are coming back to school in September more than 6 months ahead of where they otherwise could have been!

Closing the achievement gap

Springboard targets students who are the farthest behind in reading. In just 5 weeks, Springboard Summer closed the gap to grade-level performance by an impressive 36%. Older students come to Springboard further behind; in order to fully close the gap for them, we seek to provide a double dose of support through Springboard Afterschool.

K 1st grade 2nd grade 3rd grade 4th grade 5th grade K 1th 2th 3th 4th 5th
End of grade level Student lifetime reading achievement before Springboard Summer Reading gain after 5-week summer intervention Gap remaining to reach grade-level reading expectation

Our average pre-reader started the program not being ready for Kindergarten, but ended the summer more than ready!

Pre-k growth

Pre-K Ready for Kindergarten Pre-reader achievement at the start of the program Pre-reader gain after 5-week summer intervention

Summer Stories

Fun with friends!

“Springboard is fun because you get to learn and do it with your friends over the summer. I also learned a lot about reading, like on Wednesday when I learned that I can’t read too fast and not understand the words like I used to, but I have to read at a good pace like a character talking.” —Michelle

That’s incredible! Kids make so much more progress when you enlist their parents in the effort. I also love that we can reward families for meeting their goals.

Chapter 4

Goals & incentives

Congratulations on finishing Springboard Summer! You all worked so hard.

I can’t wait to celebrate with our parents at the end-of-summer party!

Reading goal growth

Each student had the ambitious goal of reaching the next reading level in just 5 weeks. 73% of scholars met or exceeded this goal:

Did not meet goal Met goal Exceeded goal

Educational incentives

As families hone their teaching skills, Springboard awards them with the same tools you’d find in a classroom. Scholars earn learning tools—commensurate with their reading progress—to support long-term growth.

of our students received 4 books
of our students received backpacks
of our students received tablets

Your reading improved so much that you went past your goal! That means you earned books, a backpack, and a tablet! You’ll have everything you need to keep learning at home.

At the first workshop, we also provided every family with a set of books customized to their child’s baseline reading level. Along with the incentive books, this helped families to grow their home libraries:

42
books Before Springboard
53
books After Springboard

Additionally, Springboard gave families access to thousands of e-books in multiple languages through an online leveled library.

Summer Stories

A love of reading

“I won a tablet, went up four reading levels, got school supplies, free books and a backpack. I am soooooo happy. Springboard rocks!! I want to read some more.” —Cameron

Wow, Cameron learned so much and met his goal! Did you learn things too, Mrs. Martínez?

Yes, I did! Did you know that teachers also set goals for the summer?

Chapter 5

Teacher training & professional development

Mrs. Martínez, did you manage to reach your goal this summer?

Definitely, thanks for all your help this summer, Coach Smith! I also changed the way I assess and instruct! Did you see what other teachers had to say about their goals?

Teacher surveys

“Family workshops helped me connect with students’ family members.”

Can you guess what percentage of teachers agreed with this statement?

You're right!

Actually!

94%

of our teachers felt that family workshops helped them connect with the family members!

“I think my students’ families have a strong understanding of what we are working on in my class.”

Before Springboard After Springboard

Springboard isn’t just for students and families. Teachers improved their instructional practice and their ability to engage families. As a Site Leader, I gained a valuable management experience. When I become a school leader someday, I’ll be ready!

Well, you did a great job! 90% of Site Leaders would said they would work for Springboard again.

Site Leader surveys

“After Springboard, I feel confident using data to coach teachers.”

“I would recommend Springboard to others.”

“Springboard developed me as a leader.”

Summer Stories

Growth and leadership

“Brianna met her challenges head-on to ensure that the Springboard launch was successful! Her leadership and coaching were evident in the growth of students and teachers.” —Michael

It’s exciting to know that hundreds of teachers across the country are improving their practice with support from rising leaders like Brianna!

Chapter 6

Program locations

I can’t wait to sign up for Springboard in Fresno! I wish my nieces and nephews in Connecticut could participate.

They can! Springboard is constantly expanding.

In 2018, we held Springboard Summer programs in 10 cities:

Oakland (est. ’15) San Francisco (’17) San Jose (’17) Fresno (’18) Norwalk (’18) New York (’17) Philadelphia (’11) Wilmington (’18) Baltimore (’18) DC (’16)

Growth in number
of students

Growth in number
of sites

Growth in number
of teachers

Summer Stories

Happy endings

“Mia came home with a question about her reading. She never has questions about school. She asked me ‘What is a metaphor?’ She was very serious about it, too. She had a question about what she learned that day, and I was excited to share with her teacher about her curiosity.” —Isabella

What a great story. It warms my heart to see families across the country coming together around books. But what happens after programming? Does it all end after 5 weeks?

Chapter 7

Long term habit development

What are you guys up to?

I’m using the tips that I learned at Springboard to help Cynthia learn to read! We’re going to need lots more books for Christmas.

Reading is fun! Can I go to Springboard Afterschool with my brother this year?

In a 6-month follow-up study, Springboard scholars were still reading an additional 36 minutes per week compared to before Springboard.

Days per week reading at home

Before Springboard 6 months after Springboard

That would be great! I bet we can both beat our reading goals.

Summer Stories

Summer highlights

“Springboard is unlike any teaching experience or educational program I’ve been a part of. Unlimited growth can happen when students, parents, and teachers work together. Skills learned in school are reinforced by parents at home thanks to the weekly workshops. I see parents feeling confident and empowered as they coach their children, and students working hard to make parents proud. It is inspiring to watch this process and help facilitate a culture of learning and growth. The positive reading habits built between students and parents at Springboard can change the way students feel about reading and literacy.” —Allison

Help us spread the word about Springboard Summer, and learn how you can support continued impact. Stay tuned for results from Springboard Afterschool and Schoolyear! #SBCSummerImpact2018

Two Penn Center, Suite 1315
1500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19102

info@springboardcollaborative.org