Our solution
Springboard Collaborative closes the literacy gap by coaching teachers, training family members, and cultivating reading habits so that our scholars have the requisite skills to access life opportunities.
Where others see a challenge, we see an opportunity: Teachers and parents have a goal in common–students’ educational success–and they need each other to accomplish it.
- Teachers are the experts on instruction. They know what their students need in order to improve their reading levels. However, the classroom setting makes it difficult to individually support every child.
- Parents are the experts on their children, accumulating a wealth of knowledge about their children as learners. Moreover, parents have the unique opportunity to read with children in a one-on-one setting; there is no smaller classroom than a family’s living room.
These competencies form the basis for sustainable parent-teacher collaboration.
Our model
Springboard gets results by increasing high-quality reading time for children. We do this by engaging teachers and parents to work together towards reading goals. Our approach combines:
Team-building huddle
Teachers visit the homes of their students to build parent buy-in and lay the foundation for a strong partnership.
Instruction
Teachers are coached to differentiate their literacy instruction and create individualized reading plans for students and families.
Family workshops
Teachers lead weekly workshops that train parents to select on-level books and ask questions before, during, and after reading.
Coaching
Program Leaders, hired from within each school, conduct a rigorous teacher coaching cycle while participating in a leadership development program.
Learning bonuses
Contingent on parent attendance and commensurate with student reading growth, Springboard distributes educational incentives – including books and tablets – during a capstone celebration.
Capacity building
Springboard helps school communities transform themselves from within by using the people and assets they already have. Springboard’s offerings are immersive professional development experiences that build capacity in four ways:
We develop children as readers by increasing high-quality instruction at home and school in order to help students reach ambitious reading goals.
We develop parents as teachers by training and equipping family members to be effective reading coaches, delivering one-on-one literacy support at home that would be cost-prohibitive in a classroom setting.
We develop teachers as instructors through training, Professional Learning Communities, and coaching on data-driven instruction and family engagement.
We develop schools’ leadership pipelines by guiding Site Leaders through a management training program.
“What I really like about working with Springboard Collaborative is that they don’t leave all of the learning to the students. They expect the same from the parents by hosting family workshops that teach them the same skills that their children are learning, so they can reinforce what their teachers are teaching them at home. It’s a group effort.”
Hui, Teacher
“The reading program has helped me build my child’s confidence. It makes learning fun and it’s a true engaging experience for the parent and child! Reading with your child builds closeness and well-spent family time.”
Sonya, Parent
Next: Our impact